Newt Gingrich

Can you believe this guy is such a player?

It was with great pleasure that I received the news that Newt Gingrich had converted to Catholicism.  Now he's running for president.  With South Carolina under his belt, he may well be the Republican nominee, but it is doubtful that Mr. Gingrich has what it takes to be president.  His dirty laundry is being aired, and it ain't sweet smelling! 

He has spoken out powerfully about traditional family structure, but requested an open marriage from the second of his (as of yet) three wives.  He's not handled his personal finances well, leading a life where he is perpetually broke.  He also tried to write an apologetic tell-all book, but was stopped by aides.  He also had a torrid High School affair with his math teacher.  Newt also has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. 
This leads to awkward headlines, like this one, "Newt Gingrich: Child labor laws are stupid"

What's truly amazing about Gingrich's success in South Carolina is that he probably won because the Evangelical Protestants probably voted for him because they'd rather have a Catholic than a Mormon.  Now that's just sad!  Appealing to racism and religious prejudice seems to be par for the course for Gingrich, but his new found religion won't stand for it.  45 Catholic leaders wrote an open letter to the two Catholic Republican candidates for president, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.  The letter was published January 21, 2012 and reads as follows. 

An Open Letter to Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum
As Catholic leaders who recognize that the moral scandals of racism and poverty remain a blemish on the American soul, we challenge our fellow Catholics Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail. Mr. Gingrich has frequently attacked President Obama as a “food stamp president” and claimed that African Americans are content to collect welfare benefits rather than pursue employment. Campaigning in Iowa, Mr. Santorum remarked: “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.” Labeling our nation’s first African-American president with a title that evokes the past myth of “welfare queens” and inflaming other racist caricatures is irresponsible, immoral and unworthy of political leaders.
Some presidential candidates now courting “values voters” seem to have forgotten that defending human life and dignity does not stop with protecting the unborn. We remind Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum that Catholic bishops describe racism as an “intrinsic evil” and consistently defend vital government programs such as food stamps and unemployment benefits that help struggling Americans. At a time when nearly 1 in 6 Americans live in poverty, charities and the free market alone can’t address the urgent needs of our most vulnerable neighbors. And while jobseekers outnumber job openings 4-to-1, suggesting that the unemployed would rather collect benefits than work is misleading and insulting.
As the South Carolina primary approaches, we urge Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Santorum and all presidential candidates to reject the politics of racial division, refrain from offensive rhetoric and unite behind an agenda that promotes racial and economic justice.

For the 45 signatures and the original posting of the letter, click here.   I'm sure that many of the 45 have met Pope Benedict XVI and perhaps some would have met Blessed John Paul II.

Anders Behring Breivik

4 Degrees

"Christian" terrorist, Anders
Behring Breivik

There has been a horrific terrorist spree in Norway.  In the past 24 hours a bombing and a mass murder shooting on an island.  So far the teen death toll at the camp is over 90, the bombing may have killed an accomplice.  This is thought to be the work of Christian terrorists.

The decidedly evil work of Breivik's hands was commented on by one of his victims, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.  Stoltenberg's office was in the blast radius.

Anders Behring Breivik was arrested and charged with the bombing and the mass shooting.  According to The Atlantic, Breivik was "a conservative, right-wing Christian" with views that concentrated on "lowering taxes and a much stricter policy on immigration."  

In the center, (second degree) Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the UN with
(third degree) Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway

(first degree) Pope Benedict and  Ban Ki Moon

Hmmm, when I last read about a radical conservative Christian, he was being lambasted for telling us we'll go to hell if we don't care for the poor, we should support the infirmed, give birth to children even if they have genetic abnormailities, and be more compassionate with our immigration.  

Archbishop Chaput giving communion to a little
boy.   

He is Charles Chaput, the soon-to-be archbishop of Philadelphia.  

So which one of these men is the actual Christian?  The murderer for lower taxes and sealed borders?  The monk who's a stickler for life and compassion and who took a vow of poverty?  

I'll let you make up your mind.  Until then, I'll be praying with my friend Chaput for the victims in Norway.  May God make their memory eternal and may the good people of Norway bring the compassion of Christ to the survivors.  

Marie Joseph

Marie Joseph and one of her children in the Lafayette pool
on another occasion.  Can you see her feet?

This story is disturbing.  It happened just a few miles from my home in Fall River, Massachusetts.  This story has done nothing to improve the grizzly reputation of Fall River, home to notorious alleged murderess, fifth degree, Lizzie Bordon.  This story is more disturbing than even that because the victim, 36-year-old Marie Joseph, could have been any of us.

Facts of the case continue to unfold and I will update the blog.  Please keep in mind that Odiogo, the audio version of the blog, does not update after the original post.

Here is what we know so far.

June 26, 2011
Marie Joseph, mother of 5, is cooling herself with friends at the Lafayette Park Pool, a State pool in Fall River, Massachusetts.  Her cell phone, wallet, towel, and other effects were found at the pool that night by lifeguards.  Friends had waited for Joseph at the pool, but then assumed she had left on her own.  No missing persons report was ever filed.  Then, Wednesday morning, we have this news story.

Later, we learn that the body may have been there since Sunday.  Hundreds of swimmers were possibly swimming around and over the corpse of Marie Joseph.  Ewwwwwwwwww.  The creep factor just exploded.

But how is it that she drown in a crowded pool without anyone knowing.  As it turns out, someone did know. He told lifeguards, but they blew him off.  The first one was "on break" and didn't want to be bothered.  The second said "there would be a pool inspection in a few minutes."  Perhaps this young mother of 5 could have been saved with CPR if something had been done immediately!

Grandmother says boy warned lifeguard of drowning woman: MyFoxBOSTON.com

4 Degrees

Joseph to Patrick to Obama to Benedict XVI to John Paul II

4th degree, Marie Joseph slides down this yellow slide
into a pool in Fall River and sinks to the bottom.  

Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick (right) spoke
at a press conference about closing all state pools
during the investigation.  Here is Mr. Patrick with another
famous politician, second degree, Barak Obama

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Governator the year he was expecting
at least two children, one  with his wife.

The Governator is in the news, but don't let this glitzy, flash-in-the-pan, titillating story distract you from the real meat of the issue.  We'll examine the real tragedy of the Schwarzenegger situation and connect Arnold to Blessed John Paul II simultaneously.

News broke this week that the first couple of California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver were separating because of a recent disclosure of a "love child" conceived by a housemaid by Mr. Schwarzenegger in the mid-90s.  

The legal members of the Schwarzenegger family

The Schwarzenegger family, the Kennedy family, and the family(s) of extra-marital children fathered by Arnold are all experiencing shame, pain, and stress.  Why?  Because the great joys and pleasures of sex were treated as entitlements, not blessings, by Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Instead of praising God for his beautiful family, he praised himself for his fame, power, and magnetism.  Babies are made by sex.  We keep forgetting that in our culture.  Here's a reminder!


When sex is taken out of the context of the spousal relationship, it's not only hurtful, it's tough to comprehend. Even in this College Humor piece, babies and sex cannot be separated from one another, even when discussing group sex!

Arnold and Maria married in 1986 when they were all
dewy and cute and gorgeous.  They married in a church, but
I don't know if theirs was a sacramental marriage.
Perhaps a future tribunal will try to assess this relationship.
Were they open to life from the beginning?
Did they both intend a faithful union from the beginning?
Did they withhold information from one another  at the beginning?

Arnold Schwarzenegger has made a mockery of fidelity.
If he's so disrespectful of his church's teaching on that,
why should he uphold another teaching that marriage
is between one man and one woman?
Answer:  No reason at all.  As a result, article after article
are attacking the former Governor's policy against same-sex unions.
On many levels, Arnold's actions have weakened the very idea of marriage.

Second Degree Eunice Shriver and her husband, Sargent Shriver
at the wedding of Arnold and Maria Schwarzenegger in 1986.  Photo
in the New York Times.

As she lay dying, Pope Benedict XVI prayed for Eunice Kennedy Shriver.  She was a saintly woman.  I wrote about hers and the Kennedys' degrees of separation from Blessed John Paul II in the Abraham Lincoln post.  

Pope sends message to Shriver's family: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Sex makes babies.  Not always, but every baby that is born was made sexually.  Yes, there's IVF, but to get a fetus via IVF somebody has to self-pleasure into a cup and that's sex too.  Humans reproduce sexually.  We can divorce the bodies from conception, but we still need a male and female body to get the gametes.

Mother Angelica

Mother Angelica

We've talked about Our Blessed Mother, Mother Theresa, and now a fiesty American girl, Mother Angleica!

Mother Angelica was a televangelist before there was such a thing.  She never fell into scandal or greed, she just loved people and tried to save souls.  Her Eternal Word Television Netowrk (EWTN) is still going strong.  She's in frail health now, and we wish her well.  I have a feeling that, when she does meet Jesus, she'll be the patron saint of new media.  I don't know any Catholic who doesn't swell with pride and love when thinking of Mother Angelica.

Here is Mother talking about Lent and the mortification of the flesh.  Go Mother!

1 Degree

First Degree: Pope Benedict honored Mother Angelica with the Papal Cross of Honor recently.  See a picture of Mother Angelica with Pope John Paul II in this news story.

Mother Theresa

Let's begin the month of mothers with Mother Theresa.

1 Degree

Mother Theresa with another servant of Christ

with Princess Diana

Pope John Paul II and Indian Catholics at the beatification ceremony for
Mother Theresa of Calcutta

with first-degreers, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan

With Pope Paul VI, the man who elevated
the future Pope John Paul II to cardinal.

Praying next to a future pope.  

Who admired who more?

The First Ladies

1 Degree

American First Ladies have traditionally worn black when meeting the pope in an official capacity.  Only in the later half of the 20th Century and afterward have American presidents met popes face to face.  The advent of air travel has allowed this to happen.

To read a presidential etiquette insider's blog on the subject click here.  NPR has a wonderful primer on meeting the pope.  In it are bits of wisdome like

What if the pope approaches me?

Don't just stand there — genuflect. That means bend at the knee, for you non-Catholics.

To read the entire list of suggested manners click here.
Jackie Kennedy had a private audience with the pope, but I'm not sure weather it was John XXIII or Paul VI.   The footage here is of Jackie with John XXIII.

Nancy Reagan met John Paul II with her husband in 1982.  To see this short, historic video, click here.

This was not from the 1982 meeting, but a more informal occasion later
in the Reagan presidency

The Clinton's and John Paul II

The Bushes with Benedict XVI

George W. Bush

1 Degree

George Bush presenting the Medal of Freedom to JPII

Not every president is a great favorite.  It's especially rare for a man to be universally loved and admired while he holds office.  Such is the case with George W. Bush for me.  While his doctrine of preemptive acts of war, suspending Habeas Corpus, and many other policies are distinctly not Catholic, his stance on abortion and euthanasia have been spot on.  As we ponder the presidency of George W. Bush and all the presidents this month, we see that there is no one party that embodies Christian morals and teachings.  There never will be such a party.  It is up to each individual Christian to determine where their vote should go and which party to support in which election.

George W's brother, Jeb, is a 3rd Degree Knight of Columbus!  Here is George talking about Benedict XVI's visit to the United States in 2008.  

Simon Cowell

A loveable Teddy Bear, remember, bears bite!

1979 with members of the Zimmelstern family in Antigua.
This is the answer to the January 11 post.

Fifth Degree: Simon Cowell
The judge of American Idol.  He's not at all averse to Greeks or Greek culture as evidenced in this clip of "Stavros Flatley" in Britain's Got Talent, the year Susan Boyle was discovered.  (Bonus video of Stavros Flatley meeting Michael Flatley at the end of this post.)

Simon judged and advanced David Cook in the 2008 season.


Fourth Degree: David Cook
His first post-American Idol single was co-written by Chris Cornell.

Third Degree: Chris Cornell 
Chris Cornell had his baby baptized at St. Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles in April of 2009.

Chris Cornell and his son's godmother.  He had his
son baptized Greek Orthodox at St. Sophia Cathedral
in April of 2009.

Second Degree: Archbishop Demitrios 

Archbishop Demitrios celebrated a liturgy in honor of the 100th anniversary of St. Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles in June of 2009.  

First Degree: Pope Benedict XVI 

Archbishop Demitrios had breakfast with the pope when he visited New York in 2008.

Benedict and Demitrios in 2008

Fun fact about icons.

Have you ever kissed the picture of a loved one and smiled?  That is what Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics do when they venerate a holy icon.  Icons, statuary, relics, crosses, and the hands of priests are not worshiped in any branch of the Catholic Church.  Rather, they are shown love and devotion as representations of Our Beloved, God.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Dickens reading his
works before an
audience

Third Degree: Charles Dickens
The author of A Christmas Carol will forever be loved and remembered at Yuletide.  As you prepare your holiday meals and tend to the house, play one or all of the following versions of this classic tale.  Below, I've embedded the version from the 1950s narrated by Vincent Price.

If you prefer, here is a link to Lionel Barrymore's narration of A Christmas Carol from 1938.  Here is a link to a 1910 silent version.  To hear Orson Wells and The Mercury Theater performing A Christmas Carol in 1938, click here



Second Degree: G.K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton wrote many of the forwards for Dickens' books.  In 1906, Chesterton also wrote the definitive biography of Charles Dickens.

"The common mind means the mind of all the artists and heroes; or else it would not be common. Plato had the common mind; Dante had the common mind. Commonness means the quality common to the saint and the sinner, to the philosopher and the fool; and it was this that Dickens grasped and developed. In everybody there is a certain thing that loves babies, that fears death, that likes sunlight: that thing enjoys Dickens. And everybody does not mean uneducated crowds; everybody means everybody."

I'm just discovering Chesterton, so I'm going to steal his bio from Dale Ahlquist, president of The American Chesterton Society. 

G.K. Chesterton was 6'4", weighed
over 300 pounds, and wrote an essay
every day

Atheist C.S. Lewis read
Chesterton's
The Everlasting Man
and soon
after became Christian.

Born in London, Chesterton was educated at St. Paul’s, but never went to college...He wrote over 4000 newspaper essays, including 30 years worth of weekly columns for the Illustrated London News,and 13 years of weekly columns for the Daily News. He also edited his own newspaper, G.K.’s Weekly. (To put it into perspective, four thousand essays is the equivalent of writing an essay a day, every day, for 11 years. If you’re not impressed, try it some time...Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism, history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology. His style is unmistakable, always marked by humility, consistency, paradox, wit, and wonder...stood 6’4" and weighed about 300 pounds, usually had a cigar in his mouth, and walked around wearing a cape and a crumpled hat, tiny glasses pinched to the end of his nose, swordstick in hand, laughter blowing through his moustache. And usually had no idea where or when his next appointment was.

H.G. Wells

Ghandi was inspired by
Chesterton's writing

This absent-minded, overgrown elf of a man...who wrote a book called The Everlasting Man, which led a young atheist named C.S. Lewis to become a Christian...This was the man who wrote an essay in theIllustrated London News that inspired Mohandas Gandhi to lead a movement to end British colonial rule in India...Chesterton debated many of the celebrated intellectuals of his time: George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, Bertrand Russell, Clarence Darrow...to debate Chesterton is to lose!

Why not purchase this book
and read it during Great Lent?

Chesterton argued eloquently against all the trends that eventually took over the 20^th century: materialism, scientific determinism, moral relativism, and spineless agnosticism. He also argued against both socialism and capitalism and showed why they have both been the enemies of freedom and justice in modern society.

And what did he argue for? What was it he defended? He defended "the common man" and common sense. He defended the poor. He defended the family. He defended beauty. And he defended Christianity and the Catholic Faith. 

Enjoy this reenactment of a Chesterton debate.
 

The pope's ruby slippers on British land! His trip was
paved with the blood and bodies of martyrs and held
with the mortar of Chesterton's words.

Chesterton converted to Catholicism, but, like many converts, once converted, he was a powerful voice of truth and justice.  I believe that Pope Benedict XVI's journey to Great Britain was paved by the blood of martyrs, but mortared with the words of G.K. Chesterton.  His wit and charm disarm us and bring us closer to his core message of Christian love.  For more on Chesterton's conversion click here.

First Degree: Pope Pius XI

Pius XII

Upon the death of G. K. Chesterton, Pope Pius XI declared that we had lost "a gifted defender of the faith."  The papal nuncio, Giovanni Pacelli (who would become Pope Pius XII,) sent condolences to Chesterton's widow.

Pius XI

Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer

St. Susanna the
Deaconess Martyr

It's my name day!  St. Susanna the Deaconess was born into the Kingdom on December 15.  I'm giving myself a treat with this post.  I just love Rudolf and Burl Ives.  My father was very fond of these claymation specials from the 60s.  General Electric, the company my dad worked for for decades, was the sponsor of Rudolf.  I don't think the blatant electricity of his nose was an accident! 

4 Degrees

Fourth Degree: Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Third Degree: Burl Ives
Rudolf's film debut was with Burl Ives.  Burl played the snowman who narrates the Rudolf saga.  Part 1 of the first film is embedded above.  


Second Degree: Gary Cooper
Burl Ives appeared on "What's my line" August 7, 1955.  Gary Cooper was on the program October 18, 1959.  Here are the clips of their appearances.  






First Degree: Pope Pius XII
Gary Cooper converted to Catholicism well into adulthood.  For the story of his conversion and his encounter with Pope Pius XII, click here.  

Gary Cooper with Pope Pius XII (source: Janis, 79; photo credit: G. Felici)

Pius XII is on the road to sainthood.  He was made "venerable" by Benedict XVI.  For an article about his elevation to venerable, click here.  


1 Degree: Benedict (also) also elevated his predecessor, John Paul II.

Benedict at tomb of Pius XII
photo by Getty Images and AFP

Rudolf is all about light.  Children look to him for a light in the darkness of a winter's night.  We look to the saints for light when we are in darkness.  May you find the light you need to find your way this Christmas season.  


To read the origin of the Rudolf story, click here.  I warn you, you'll need tissues!

Massasoit

House in Betty's Neck on
 Lake Assawompset

McMansion

Massasoit had many children, but has few descendants.  His sons tended to die fighting the English, and his daughters married Wampanoag or men from nearby tribes who died fighting the English.  I kept hitting dead ends as I pursued Massasoit's blood lines.  I managed to find his last surviving granddaughters (many generations down the line,) living on Betty's Neck road in Lakeville, Massachusetts.  These women died in the late 1800s and their home is NOT  a museum.  It abuts a development of McMansions.  

Wamsutta James

A member of Massasoit's tribe, the Wampanoag, was invited to speak at the annual Massachusetts chapter of Mayflower Descendants' annual Thanksgiving reenactment in Plymouth.  After the Descendants read the speech, they withdrew their invitation.  To read Wamsutta James' speech, click here.  

The last known
descendants of
Massasoit

Canadian Trappers brought disease that
decimated Massasoit's people

In the 1610's, French Canadian trappers brought a host of microbes to the Indians of current day Massachusetts.  As a result, thousands died.  Estimates of the deaths range from 30-95% of the population.  Bacteria were not to be discovered for another 50 years.  The concept of infection control was 150 years away.  Massasoit and the families of the dead thought that the white man had unleashed some sort of evil force on them.  It's not surprising that Massasoit sent Samoset to declare peace to the white men as they arrived.  

He didn't want his people to be annihilated by another round of disease

The rest of the story in 7 degrees will be told in pictures.  Please excuse the twist I published.  After all the depressing research about Massasoit's family, disease, oppression, and plague, I needed a smile.  

7 Degrees

Massasoit
King of Wampanoags

Massasoit made peace with John Carver, John Bradford, Myles Standish
and other pilgrims against the Narragansett and for mutual protection.

Guess who is descended from John Bradford?

This is Natasha, she posed in Heff's magazine.  Natasha married the grandson of......

The Shah of Iran, who met.....

Ted Kennedy in 1975.  Mr Kennedy wrote a letter to....

Benedict XVI.  The pope sent a message back to Kennedy's
family.  Read the correspondences here.  

Brothers!

Massasoit to John Bradford to Hugh Heffner to Natasha to Shah to Kennedy to Pope to Pope

Did you know?  It's never too late for confession and reconciliation.