The End... and The Beginning

As a long, brutal 16 months in this River City finally reaches its close, a new day begins at midnight.

Until then, this scribe sits surrounded by 181 years of a history now superseded, in the hope of making sense of it all. Then again -- even in fits of writers-block, it seems -- the line can't help but come to mind that there are no coincidences, only the Providence of God.

Looking at things through the lens of today, for no shortage of our own, this midnight and weekend makes for yet another very difficult, painful, even bitter moment. But only by believing in tomorrow -- a moment whose likes we have not known in quite some time here -- can the significance of the hour soon to strike, and the road of immense promise that lies beyond it, be understood as it deserves.

For the gift of a future as unexpected as it's been needed among us, as a new era dawns in our midst, Phils fans, God grant us the grace to know hope and newness of life... and in the only way a church can, tonight, let us begin again:


Amen.

SVILUPPO: Lest we forget -- and in the interests of a full perspective -- this July 1st doesn't just bring seismic changes to the life of the church in this place, but the institution that's long been the diocese's lead rival in the hometown discourse.

After 85 years at 400 N. Broad, the new fiscal sees God's Favorite Newspaper -- this scribe's classroom of the craft -- and the suburban rag that's shared The Tower with it leaving their landmark headquarters for slimmed-down space across town... where, among other things, the parking will be considerably more expensive and -- in an aspect of the move that should jar any fan of decent journalism -- the two newsrooms are to be consolidated into a single space.

At the papers' latest change of ownership this spring -- their fourth in five years -- the Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer were purchased for roughly a tenth of the $515 million they sold for in 2006.

This might sound like a throwaway bit of local lore for some, but for 33 years until last fall, the bowels of The Tower had a much more meaningful name 'round these parts -- "Dad's office." Thanks to that, finding love at first sight in the newsroom upstairs ended up creating what you see here day in and day out.

An old line says that "Journalism will kill you, but it will keep you alive while you're at it." Here's hoping that remains true -- these days, chances are that internet readerships who've become used to getting everything for nothing (and just as much, cut-and-paste websites that do little more than lift content from elsewhere, only to deflate the traffic and revenue that makes actual reporting possible) will end up killing the outlets first.

As recent events in The Tower's long shadow would seem to indicate, that just might make for an unexpected path to a better life. Either way, it's just another way of saying that, in this place, the world as we've long known it is literally changing overnight.

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Favorite Trends from Resort 2012

I have a confession to make: Resort wear is my favorite collection during every fashion cycle.  There is something so effortless yet playful about resort wear.  It's possibly because I live in a warmer climate or that I'm attracted to prints but resort wear always impresses me.  It's the underdog season of the fashion world and I really feel like it's the perfect in-between.   It never feels over-thought possibly because of the lack of runway pressure or whatnot but nonetheless, here are some of my favorite looks from next summer's resort wear collections.  Okay, I'll admit that Pre-Fall is a close second.  Thanks to the cut for reminding me of how much I love it.   So here's a new thing, here are my thoughts about the following outfits:

Bejeweled Necklines: My first question is when did bejeweled collars stop being a trend, especially with the onset of bejeweled collared necklaces?  I can see Blair from Atlantic-Pacific or Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere wearing this girly pastel number from Moschino.

 Probably my favorite outfit from the "bejeweled neckline" trend by Phillip Lim.  I love the vertical stripes linen suit contrast to the heavy neck and printed shirt.  So up my alley.

2. Bra-cut Tops: I'm not even sure if that's the name for it but I've named it that because that's what it looks like.  Okay Altuzarra, I didn't like you before when you were dressing old rich fashion ladies but now, you're getting a little playful for me and I'm liking it.   Does anyone else notice my penchant for linen here?   I am starting to see how you are the "fashion darling" now.  Although let's be real, this is recycling Proenza Schouler's signature bodice from you know, from way back when. 

3. Culottes:  So universally unflattering on everyone especially when seen on women on their way to do yoga.   Carven does a good job here with proportions - love that fitted jacket that honestly does not belong in resort wear.  But I'm a sucker for outerwear.   

Celine/Philo always finds a way to make anything so fking cool.  That color combination should never be underestimated.

4.  "Cheeky Prints":  Need I say more?  Below: Carven killin' it in their own subtle metallic way

BCBG:  I want to buy this and wear it right now sans those sunglasses.  

Mara Hoffman:  Basically, the dress version of her bathing suits, which blew up.  Why are cute bathing suits so hard to find?  Anyway, sans sunglasses again, this look is amazin'.  I'm glad she's such a maestro at prints.

5. Jumpsuit.  McQueen:  On another level.  Man Repellent.  Also, what does that look like when you aren't standing like that?  I guess we'll see...

Lanvin.  Gangster chic.  It's so wrong it's right sans visor.  (Sunny)

6.  Peplum/Ruffle Combo: Once again Altuzarra (whose name I keep getting confused with Althusser)  you prove me wrong.  Love that detailing on the bodice, I'm telling you.

7. Transparency:  Probs my favorite trend of the season.  Stella does an amazing job here with the mesh.  That's pretty weak transparency though.   Look for this trend on the street and buy a black lace bra.

8. Olympics:  Yes.  That's what's happening.  I had to throw this in there.  I just had to.  Also, I love those pants, they'd go really well with my hot pink Nike free runs.  It's kind of like business on the top, party on the bottom.  

Bring The Wool

Shown at a post-Pallium Mass reception for Canada's three new metropolitans, The Goods -- now with larger, thinner crosses than in years past.

Photo via the Montreal church's Facebook page... and while we're at it, a Happy Canada Day to all our friends up North.

SVILUPPO: Closer to home, meanwhile, here's a Catholic News Service package featuring the trio of Stateside Latin-church archbishops who were invested this morning -- Baltimore's Lori, Philly's Chaput and Denver's prodigal Aquila:


...and next up, one more thing.

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"The Theme of Brothers"

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
SOLEMNITY OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
CONFERRAL OF THE PALLIUM
ST PETER'S BASILICA, THE VATICAN
29 JUNE 2012

Your Eminences,
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We are gathered around the altar for our solemn celebration of Saints Peter and Paul, the principal Patrons of the Church of Rome. Present with us today are the Metropolitan Archbishops appointed during the past year, who have just received the Pallium, and to them I extend a particular and affectionate greeting. Also present is an eminent Delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, sent by His Holiness Bartholomaios I, and I welcome them with fraternal and heartfelt gratitude. In an ecumenical spirit, I am also pleased to greet and to thank the Choir of Westminster Abbey, who are providing the music for this liturgy alongside the Cappella Sistina. I also greet the Ambassadors and civil Authorities present. I am grateful to all of you for your presence and your prayers.

In front of Saint Peter’s Basilica, as is well known, there are two imposing statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, easily recognizable by their respective attributes: the keys in the hand of Peter and the sword held by Paul. Likewise, at the main entrance to the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, there are depictions of scenes from the life and the martyrdom of these two pillars of the Church. Christian tradition has always considered Saint Peter and Saint Paul to be inseparable: indeed, together, they represent the whole Gospel of Christ. In Rome, their bond as brothers in the faith came to acquire a particular significance. Indeed, the Christian community of this City considered them a kind of counterbalance to the mythical Romulus and Remus, the two brothers held to be the founders of Rome. A further parallel comes to mind, still on the theme of brothers: whereas the first biblical pair of brothers demonstrate the effects of sin, as Cain kills Abel, yet Peter and Paul, much as they differ from one another in human terms and notwithstanding the conflicts that arose in their relationship, illustrate a new way of being brothers, lived according to the Gospel, an authentic way made possible by the grace of Christ’s Gospel working within them. Only by following Jesus does one arrive at this new brotherhood: this is the first and fundamental message that today’s solemnity presents to each one of us, the importance of which is mirrored in the pursuit of full communion, so earnestly desired by the ecumenical Patriarch and the Bishop of Rome, as indeed by all Christians.

In the passage from Saint Matthew’s Gospel that we have just heard, Peter makes his own confession of faith in Jesus, acknowledging him as Messiah and Son of God. He does so in the name of the other Apostles too. In reply, the Lord reveals to him the mission that he intends to assign to him, that of being the “rock”, the visible foundation on which the entire spiritual edifice of the Church is built (cf. Mt 16:16-19). But in what sense is Peter the rock? How is he to exercise this prerogative, which naturally he did not receive for his own sake? The account given by the evangelist Matthew tells us first of all that the acknowledgment of Jesus’ identity made by Simon in the name of the Twelve did not come “through flesh and blood”, that is, through his human capacities, but through a particular revelation from God the Father. By contrast, immediately afterwards, as Jesus foretells his passion, death and resurrection, Simon Peter reacts on the basis of “flesh and blood”: he “began to rebuke him, saying, this shall never happen to you” (16:22). And Jesus in turn replied: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me ...” (16:23). The disciple who, through God’s gift, was able to become a solid rock, here shows himself for what he is in his human weakness: a stone along the path, a stone on which men can stumble – in Greek, skandalon. Here we see the tension that exists between the gift that comes from the Lord and human capacities; and in this scene between Jesus and Simon Peter we see anticipated in some sense the drama of the history of the papacy itself, characterized by the joint presence of these two elements: on the one hand, because of the light and the strength that come from on high, the papacy constitutes the foundation of the Church during its pilgrimage through history; on the other hand, across the centuries, human weakness is also evident, which can only be transformed through openness to God’s action.

And in today’s Gospel there emerges powerfully the clear promise made by Jesus: “the gates of the underworld”, that is, the forces of evil, will not prevail, “non praevalebunt”. One is reminded of the account of the call of the prophet Jeremiah, to whom the Lord said, when entrusting him with his mission: “Behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you!” (Jer 1:18-19). In truth, the promise that Jesus makes to Peter is even greater than those made to the prophets of old: they, indeed, were threatened only by human enemies, whereas Peter will have to be defended from the “gates of the underworld”, from the destructive power of evil. Jeremiah receives a promise that affects him as a person and his prophetic ministry; Peter receives assurances concerning the future of the Church, the new community founded by Jesus Christ, which extends to all of history, far beyond the personal existence of Peter himself.

Let us move on now to the symbol of the keys, which we heard about in the Gospel. It echoes the oracle of the prophet Isaiah concerning the steward Eliakim, of whom it was said: “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open” (Is 22:22). The key represents authority over the house of David. And in the Gospel there is another saying of Jesus addressed to the scribes and the Pharisees, whom the Lord reproaches for shutting off the kingdom of heaven from people (cf. Mt 23:13). This saying also helps us to understand the promise made to Peter: to him, inasmuch as he is the faithful steward of Christ’s message, it belongs to open the gate of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to judge whether to admit or to refuse (cf. Rev 3:7). Hence the two images – that of the keys and that of binding and loosing – express similar meanings which reinforce one another. The expression “binding and loosing” forms part of rabbinical language and refers on the one hand to doctrinal decisions, and on the other hand to disciplinary power, that is, the faculty to impose and to lift excommunication. The parallelism “on earth ... in the heavens” guarantees that Peter’s decisions in the exercise of this ecclesial function are valid in the eyes of God.

In Chapter 18 of Matthew’s Gospel, dedicated to the life of the ecclesial community, we find another saying of Jesus addressed to the disciples: “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 18:18). Saint John, in his account of the appearance of the risen Christ in the midst of the Apostles on Easter evening, recounts these words of the Lord: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven: if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:22-23). In the light of these parallels, it appears clearly that the authority of loosing and binding consists in the power to remit sins. And this grace, which defuses the powers of chaos and evil, is at the heart of the Church’s ministry. The Church is not a community of the perfect, but a community of sinners, obliged to recognize their need for God’s love, their need to be purified through the Cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ sayings concerning the authority of Peter and the Apostles make it clear that God’s power is love, the love that shines forth from Calvary. Hence we can also understand why, in the Gospel account, Peter’s confession of faith is immediately followed by the first prediction of the Passion: through his death, Jesus conquered the powers of the underworld, with his blood he poured out over the world an immense flood of mercy, which cleanses the whole of humanity in its healing waters.

Dear brothers and sisters, as I mentioned at the beginning, the iconographic tradition represents Saint Paul with a sword, and we know that this was the instrument with which he was killed. Yet as we read the writings of the Apostle of the Gentiles, we discover that the image of the sword refers to his entire mission of evangelization. For example, when he felt death approaching, he wrote to Timothy: “I have fought the good fight” (2 Tim 4:7). This was certainly not the battle of a military commander but that of a herald of the Word of God, faithful to Christ and to his Church, to which he gave himself completely. And that is why the Lord gave him the crown of glory and placed him, together with Peter, as a pillar in the spiritual edifice of the Church.

Dear Metropolitan Archbishops, the Pallium that I have conferred on you will always remind you that you have been constituted in and for the great mystery of communion that is the Church, the spiritual edifice built upon Christ as the cornerstone, while in its earthly and historical dimension, it is built on the rock of Peter. Inspired by this conviction, we know that together we are all cooperators of the truth, which as we know is one and “symphonic”, and requires from each of us and from our communities a constant commitment to conversion to the one Lord in the grace of the one Spirit. May the Holy Mother of God guide and accompany us always along the path of faith and charity. Queen of Apostles, pray for us! Amen.

PHOTOS: Getty, Reuters

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Pallium Eve

Even if all remains quiet for now, one of the Catholic imagination's more unique rituals continues as this Friday dawns in Rome.

Every year on the vigil of Saints Peter and Paul, the year's freshly-woven batch of the pallium -- the symbol worn by metropolitan archbishops within their provinces to signify "the fullness of the episcopal office" -- are placed in the gilt casket shown above, to spend this night in the tomb of the First Apostle. From there, come morning, the Pope will confer the lambswool bands of ancient origin on 43 prelates named to archdioceses across the globe over the last year, giving it as "a bond of love, and an incentive to courage."

While newly-named metropolitans have made the trek to the Vatican to receive their pallia from the pontiff since 1984, this year's rite -- beginning at 9am Rome time (3am Eastern; livestream... and worship aid) -- will be unique in two aspects.

For starters, a new change to the ceremonial has moved the distribution of the garment to before the Mass, as opposed to its prior place following the homily. And in a gesture that's both an ecumenical landmark and a treat for a music-loving Pope on the 61st anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, the choir of London's Westminster Abbey -- which blew the Vatican delegation away during Benedict's State Visit to the UK in September 2010 -- will join the usual Sistine Singers to sing at the liturgy.

As this year's recipients go, the 44 archbishops include two prelates already made cardinals -- the youngest member of the Papal "Senate," Berlin's Rainer Maria Woelki, and the Mexican Francisco Robles Ortega, who gets his second pallium after his transfer from Monterey to Guadalajara, the country's second-largest diocese, last year.

Other high-profile figures among the global group include the new patriarch of Venice Francesco Moraglia, Archbishops Chito Tagle of Manila, Christian Lepine of Montreal, Andrew Yeom of Seoul, Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, and Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, the vice-president of the Canadian bishops. Per usual, the world's largest Catholic country -- Brazil -- leads the pack with seven new metropolitans in tomorrow's class.

The US delegation, meanwhile, is led by the figure who's taken on American Catholicism's most daunting episcopal assignment in the last half-century (and the recently-named host of the church's 2015 World Meeting of Families), Philadelphia's Archbishop Charles Chaput OFM Cap. -- receiving his second pallium 15 years after his first, for Denver -- joined by his successor in the Rockies, the native son Samuel Aquila, who'll be installed on 18 July; the "quarterback" of the USCCB's religious freedom push, William Lori of Baltimore; and, in a rarity for an Eastern metropolitan, William Skurla, the Ruthenian archeparch of Pittsburgh.

The Peter and Paul Mass traditionally marks the end of the Vatican's working year; much like his Curia, the Pope is scheduled to leave Rome next week until late September, in his case to spend the summer hiatus at the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo.

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Fulton the Venerable

In an audience this morning with his chief Saintmaker, Cardinal Angelo Amato SDB, the Pope assented to several decrees of canonization, beatification and the heroic virtue of souls on the path to sainthood.

Of them all, however, none are as likely to resonate among this crowd more than the declaration as "Venerable" of the figure who's arguably the most celebrated and effective evangelist in the history of the faith on these shores, once the nation's most-watched TV personality -- the epic, great and beloved "Bishop Sheen"....


The declaration of Fulton Sheen's heroic virtue marks the Vatican's affirmation of a process concluded by his native diocese of Peoria in early 2008. A miraculous healing attributed to his intercession has already been presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

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"By Faith..."

As these days seem to be marked by no shortage of tensions and emotions in no shortage of places among our lot, lest anybody else can use it, it just feels like a good moment to step back and reflect on What It's All About.

In that light, here, a passage (par. 13) from Porta Fidei -- B16's letter of indiction for the upcoming Year of Faith to mark the 50th anniversary of Vatican II.

Much as the 13-month observance doesn't begin until October, the following is fairly timeless, and just as worthwhile....

During this time we will need to keep our gaze fixed upon Jesus Christ, the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:2): in him, all the anguish and all the longing of the human heart finds fulfilment. The joy of love, the answer to the drama of suffering and pain, the power of forgiveness in the face of an offence received and the victory of life over the emptiness of death: all this finds fulfilment in the mystery of his Incarnation, in his becoming man, in his sharing our human weakness so as to transform it by the power of his resurrection. In him who died and rose again for our salvation, the examples of faith that have marked these two thousand years of our salvation history are brought into the fullness of light.

By faith, Mary accepted the Angel’s word and believed the message that she was to become the Mother of God in the obedience of her devotion (cf. Lk 1:38). Visiting Elizabeth, she raised her hymn of praise to the Most High for the marvels he worked in those who trust him (cf. Lk 1:46-55). With joy and trepidation she gave birth to her only son, keeping her virginity intact (cf. Lk 2:6-7). Trusting in Joseph, her husband, she took Jesus to Egypt to save him from Herod’s persecution (cf. Mt 2:13-15). With the same faith, she followed the Lord in his preaching and remained with him all the way to Golgotha (cf. Jn 19:25-27). By faith, Mary tasted the fruits of Jesus’ resurrection, and treasuring every memory in her heart (cf. Lk 2:19, 51), she passed them on to the Twelve assembled with her in the Upper Room to receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14; 2:1-4).

By faith, the Apostles left everything to follow their Master (cf. Mk 10:28). They believed the words with which he proclaimed the Kingdom of God present and fulfilled in his person (cf. Lk 11:20). They lived in communion of life with Jesus who instructed them with his teaching, leaving them a new rule of life, by which they would be recognized as his disciples after his death (cf. Jn 13:34-35). By faith, they went out to the whole world, following the command to bring the Gospel to all creation (cf. Mk 16:15) and they fearlessly proclaimed to all the joy of the resurrection, of which they were faithful witnesses.

By faith, the disciples formed the first community, gathered around the teaching of the Apostles, in prayer, in celebration of the Eucharist, holding their possessions in common so as to meet the needs of the brethren (cf. Acts 2:42-47).

By faith, the martyrs gave their lives, bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel that had transformed them and made them capable of attaining to the greatest gift of love: the forgiveness of their persecutors.

By faith, men and women have consecrated their lives to Christ, leaving all things behind so as to live obedience, poverty and chastity with Gospel simplicity, concrete signs of waiting for the Lord who comes without delay. By faith, countless Christians have promoted action for justice so as to put into practice the word of the Lord, who came to proclaim deliverance from oppression and a year of favour for all (cf. Lk 4:18-19).

By faith, across the centuries, men and women of all ages, whose names are written in the Book of Life (cf. Rev 7:9, 13:8), have confessed the beauty of following the Lord Jesus wherever they were called to bear witness to the fact that they were Christian: in the family, in the workplace, in public life, in the exercise of the charisms and ministries to which they were called.

By faith, we too live: by the living recognition of the Lord Jesus, present in our lives and in our history.

Sure, in some parts right now -- and at some points for each of us along the road -- the days might be long, the strains great, and the challenges often very real....

But lose this, gang, and we lose everything.

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Wedding Attire: Jason Wu Floral Silk Chiffon Dress

I was a bridesmaid in a wedding yesterday and realized that I'm at the age where everyone is getting married and it doesn't hurt to keep a look out for beautiful summer dresses to wear to weddings that also transition into everyday life.  I would style this Jason Wu silk chiffon floral dress with a leather moto jacket (what a surprise) for the fall and/or just in cooler weather.   Love the contrast between leather and silk chiffon.  I especially love the back and think that a shorter cropped jacket that exposes the chiffon beneath the waistline would look amazing too.

Il Consigliere -- Amid Media Meltdown, The Vatican Goes Fox-Hunting

Earlier today, the Pope held another of his occasional "Cabinet" meetings with his dicastery chiefs. Yet while the latest of the sporadic conferences dealt with the fallout of the recent fiasco surrounding leaked Vatican documents -- a story whose resemblance to an Italian soap-opera has made it cat-nip for the global media -- a subsequent development served to underscore the degree to which the failures of the scandal are being chalked up more to failures of messaging than of governance.

Turning to a highly-regarded hand among Rome's foreign press, the Associated Press leaked earlier this afternoon that Greg Burke (above right) -- Fox News' correspondent in the city since 2001 -- was hired by the Secretariat of State as a "senior communications adviser." According to the wire, the lead Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Fr Federico Lombardi, subsequently confirmed the move.

The Curial office buffeted most intensely by the torrent of leaks, State likewise oversees the various media arms connected with the church's central governance: Vatican Radio and Television, L'Osservatore Romano, and the Holy See Press Office. The four were brought under the umbrella of the "clearinghouse" dicastery in 1984, when the new head of its Information Office, then-Msgr Crescenzio Sepe (today the cardinal-archbishop of Naples) brought aboard the duo who would become the lead framing agents of the pontificate of John Paul II: the Spanish journalist Joaquin Navarro-Valls to lead the Press Office, and the Italian Christian Democratic politician Mario Agnes to run the newspaper, which marked its 150th anniversary last year.

Of course, Burke's nod likewise continues a legacy of Americans brought in to enhance the Holy See's media presence, a line begun by Philadelphia's own John Foley, who led the Pontifical Council of Social Communications from 1984 to 2007. Having moonlighted as the US media's lead Vatican liaison as well as the "patron saint of the Catholic press" both at home and beyond, the beloved graduate of Columbia University's School of Journalism was subsequently made a cardinal by Benedict, and kept up his many newsroom friendships until his death last December from leukemia at 76.

A numerary of Opus Dei (like Navarro-Valls), the St Louis-born Burke -- who worked the Rome beat for TIME magazine before joining TV's most-watched news outlet -- will answer to the Sostituto at Stato, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, essentially the Vatican "chief of staff."

In an AP interview, the newly-named consigliere compared his job to that of the White House Communications Director.

"You're shaping the message, you're molding the message, and you're trying to make sure everyone remains on-message," Burke said. "And that's tough."

Burke said he had previously been offered and declined the position twice.

Following the day's earlier meeting with his Curial heads, Benedict held an evening round-table with four members of the College of Cardinals "who by virtue of their great and varied experience in the service of the church, not only in Rome but also around the world, can have an exchange of ideas and suggestions to help restore the desired climate of serenity and trust in the service of the Roman Curia," as a Vatican statement explained.

The quartet included Cardinals George Pell of Sydney, the prefect of Bishops, the Canadian Marc Ouellet; the French Interreligious Czar Jean-Louis Tauran, and the Slovak Jozef Tomko, former head of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, who was one of the trio of retired red-hats tapped to oversee an internal investigation into the "Vatileaks" fuore. That group met at length with the Pope a week ago today.

Winding down a three-month sabbatical in Rome, it's notable that the Australian prelate -- a keen provocateur universally described as some variation of "a bull in a china shop" -- was the lone non-Curialist to take part in the discussions. But that stands as an indicator of his enduring status as a papal favorite.

In 2010, Pell had been widely expected to succeed Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re at the helm of the all-powerful Bishops' office, but the choice was switched to Ouellet in the final weeks after a particularly vicious power play had been engineered from within Vatican circles with the intent to block Pell's appointment.

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Guilty

For many, this is justice. For many others, it is a tragedy.

And for those of us who call Philadelphia our church and home, it is now part of our history.

After a 12-week trial and 13 days of deliberations, shortly after 2pm today, a city jury announced that it found Msgr William Lynn -- the beleaguered archdiocese's clergy personnel chief from 1992 to 2004 -- guilty on a single count of endangering the welfare of a minor.

The charge having stemmed from a grand jury's indictment that Lynn (above) covered up the history of another priest who, on the eve of the landmark trial, pled guilty to having abused a 10 year-old boy in the late 1990s, the conviction marks the first time a church official in the English-speaking world has been criminally punished for his handling of an allegation.

In the Catholic world's lone parallel to today's ruling, a now-retired French bishop, Pierre Pican, was convicted in 2001 for failing to report a predator priest to the authorities, and was given a suspended sentence. Later this year, Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St Joseph is slated to stand trial on a local charge of failing to report a priest whose alleged possession of child pornography was found to have been known by officials in the Missouri diocese for months before civil authorities were alerted.

Acquitted on a conspiracy count and a second child-endangerment charge, the 61 year-old Lynn was seen to be weeping as he was immediately remanded into custody pending an August sentencing. According to wire reports, the single guilty count is likely to bring a jail term of three and a half to seven years; the defendant is said to have turned down a plea bargain prior to the trial's late-March start.

Having built its case on thousands of damning files subpoenaed from the archdiocese's secret archive, the prosecution's case against the monsignor presented Lynn as the linchpin figure in an enduring pattern of reassigning known abusers to parishes where they were able to continue having ample access to children. By contrast, the defense relied on the testimony of the former secretary and his aides to assert that the policy was carried out on the orders of the then-archbishop, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, whose late January death at 88 came a day after he was ruled competent to testify at the trial.

Much as an appeal is possible, late word from Room 304 in the city's Criminal Justice Center relayed that a defense motion for Lynn's sentencing to house arrest would be considered at a later date.

Contrary to most expectations, meanwhile, the jury's stalemate elsewhere led to a mistrial on the charges against the monsignor's co-defendant -- the suspended priest James Brennan, who last year's second grand-jury probing the Philadelphia church's response to allegations accused of abuse and a conspiracy to conceal it, likewise dating to the late 1990s.

At a post-verdict press conference -- the year-long gag orders on all parties to the case having been lifted at the judgment -- District Attorney Seth Williams said that no determination had yet been reached on a retrial of the Brennan case.

Regarding Lynn's conviction, though, the DA -- a Catholic -- said "this day was a long time coming."

"There is no verdict that could fix the harm done to the victims of adult predators within the church," Williams said. " There is no apology that could heal the wounds these children suffered. There are no words to truly express how sorry we should all be for what happened to them. All there is is an opportunity to ensure something like this never happens again."

Likewise released from the court's ban on public comment at the verdict's announcement, in an unsigned statement, Philadelphia Chancery expressed "a heartfelt apology to all victims of clergy sexual abuse," pledging that "now and in the future, the church will continue to take vigorous steps to ensure safe church environments for all the faithful in Philadelphia."

"The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is on a journey of reform and renewal that requires honesty and hope," the statement said.

While the local church's response began by saying that the trial has made for "a difficult time for all Catholics," the archdiocese gave no direct reaction to the substance of the jury's conclusions. However, with the onetime Clergy chief seen among his confreres as the proverbial "sacrificial lamb" for the lapses of his superiors, one Philly priest said in the verdict's wake that an ostensibly demoralized feeling among the presbyterate was "not even graphable."

Marking the "beginning of the end" of a dramatic, 16-month inferno that's made for the most brutal period an American diocese has endured over the last half-century, if not longer, the verdict comes a day after the once-vaunted archdiocese announced a staggering 20 percent slashing of its roughly 200-member central staff, including the complete elimination of a Youth and Young Adult ministry that was once a global model, and the closing of the diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Standard & Times -- one of the American church's most storied publications, its roots dating to the 1860s.

Reduced to a monthly schedule amid an earlier round of budget tightening last year (when, as has only been recently disclosed, the archdiocese ran a $12 million operating loss), what would be the final edition of the Standard -- born from an 1895 merger of two local Catholic papers -- rolled out at the beginning of June.

With the cuts, the 1.2 million-member Philadelphia church becomes, by far, American Catholicism's largest outpost without a print publication of its own. In announcing the drastic cuts, Archbishop Charles Chaput OFM Cap. -- named last summer with a mandate for a thoroughgoing renewal in the grand jury's wake -- said that the moves were necessary to avoid a projected deficit of $17 million were the apparatus maintained in its current form over the next fiscal year, which begins July 1st.

The Chancery cuts are the latest part of a draconian cycle of shared sacrifice undertaken over the last year. Earlier this month brought the closing of 27 parish schools in the archdiocese amid decades of declining enrollment, while in his first major sign of a new era, late last year the new archbishop moved to sell the 13,000 square-foot residence on nine acres where his predecessors lived since the 1930s; a new owner for the property has yet to be found. In addition, in a Tuesday letter to his priests obtained by Whispers, Chaput announced the imminent closure of St Joseph's By-the-Sea -- the beloved Jersey Shore house for the archdiocese's clergy -- and its placement on the market.

Placed on administrative leave shortly after his indictment, Lynn has canonically remained as pastor of St Joseph parish in suburban Downingtown -- one of the Philadelphia church's largest communities -- where he was sent in 2004 on his departure from the Clergy Office.

Two more criminal trials launched by the 2011 grand jury are slated to take place in September. The Philadelphia church then faces eight civil abuse suits filed in the wake of the investigation.

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Inspiration: Lykke Li - Little Bit

Rag & Bone Leather Jacket and Skirt

Look of the day.

On a breather, folks... because, well, if you thought things were crazy now, just wait.

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i'm back & zara moto jackets

Hey folks, sorry about the long hiatus.  I've relocated and irresponsibility stopped posting but I'm back and better than ever.  (not really, but let's pretend.)   Yesterday, I was in the Soho Zara spotted a few pretty great moto-style pieces. The personal shopper in me may have remembered that my dear friend Sunny mentioned that she was looking for a white moto vest once, so I saw this guy and haphazardly did this:

Oh how good lighting and the absence security sensor tags and that questionable apricot top make an outfit more glamorous.  Now if you know me, you know that I basically am always looking at leather goods -- whether that be  jackets, BAGS, and shoes.  I mean, I'll be honest, these may be the ONLY things I'm willing to buy lately.  That, and glasses... which I will post in a very different post.  That being said, I've been obsessed with finding a reasonable priced leather jacket and remember seeing one on blair of atlantic-pacific from zara, I think I realized that I can find a good quality jacket from high street fashion stores, which translates into less than $500.  Here are some of my favorites:

The third one is my favorite but I need a black one.  Basically my theory is that if you feel like you need to edge up your wardrobe, invest in a moto style leather jacket that reflects, to the amount of details, what you wear.  Maybe I'm delusional but I'll think you're more badass for it.

Zara doesn't bother naming things and categorizes these under "blazers"?

1. White Moto Vest (unnamed on site)

2. Leather Jacket with Studs

3. Black Leather Jacket

4. Cream Leather Jacket

Sr Carol to White House: The "Accommodation" Is "Unacceptable"

In a conspicuous turnabout, the trade-group representing the nation's Catholic hospitals has said it is "deeply concerned with the approach" taken by the Obama administration to its proposed contraceptive mandate, and called for the Department of Health and Human Services to "instead use an expanded definition to exempt from" the new policy "not only churches, but also Catholic hospitals, health care organizations and other ministries of the church."

Coming in a five-page letter sent today by the Catholic Health Association to a top HHS administrator, the move (including draft proposals for an acceptable revision of the controversial Federal rule) follows months of public tension and quiet discussions between the US hierarchy and the association representing some 2,000 health-care facilities under the auspices of the Stateside church after the group's president, Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan, voiced her approval of the White House's February "accommodation" on the plan, which the bishops deemed as being insufficient.

Today's letter was signed by Keehan and CHA's immediate past and present board chairs.

Previously, CHA supported the passage of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act over the bishops' objections to the law's treatment of funding coverage for abortions. In appreciation for the role the association's campaign played in the bill's enactment, President Obama famously gave Keehan one of the pens he used to sign the sweeping Federal health-care reform into law.

On the initial announcement of the contraceptive policy in January, however, the CHA president backed the bishops, calling the White House proposal "a missed opportunity to be clear on appropriate conscience protection."

In the wake of that statement, even the New York Times noted that the administration's subsequent undertaking to find an agreeable middle ground "was for" Keehan, who "had told the White House that" as originally proposed, "the new rule... went too far."

"The more we learn," CHA said in today's letter, "the more it appears that the [mandate's] approaches for both insured and self-insured plans would be unduly cumbersome and would be unlikely to adequately meet the religious liberty concerns of all of our members and other church ministries."

"The exemption in the final rule is narrower than any conscience clause ever enacted in federal law and reflects an unacceptable change in federal policy regarding religious beliefs."

Notably, the CHA intervention stopped short of endorsing the extension of an exemption from the mandate to private business owners who object to it on conscience grounds -- the so-called "Taco Bell" clause -- which has become a particular cause celebre among the US church's conservative wing.

The public comment period on the policy set to end next week, the association's letter comes on the eve of the Fortnight for Freedom called by the nation's bishops to protest the mandate's implications for religious liberty. It likewise arrives less than a month after 43 church entities -- led by the archdioceses of New York and Washington and the University of Notre Dame -- filed suit in a dozen Federal courts seeking an overturn of the HHS rule.

* * *

A copy of the CHA letter obtained by Whispers this afternoon, below are the major portions of its text (emphases original)....

CHA has long insisted on and worked for the right of everyone to affordable, accessible health care. We welcomed the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and support the ACA’s requirement that certain preventive services be available at no cost to the individual. We remain deeply concerned, however, with the approach the Administration has taken with respect to contraceptive services, especially abortifacient drugs and sterilization.

The ANPRM [Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking -- i.e. the contraceptive mandate] is the latest in a series of rulemaking actions by the Departments to implement the ACA requirement that group health plans and health insurance issuers provide coverage for a range of preventive care services without cost sharing by the covered beneficiary, including a subset of women’s preventive care services as set forth in guidelines by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). On August 1, 2011 HRSA issued its Guidelines on Women's Preventive Services: Required Health Plan Coverage (HRSA Guidelines) requiring coverage without cost sharing of all Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures and patient education and counseling for women of reproductive age. At the same time, the Departments issued an Interim Final Regulation (76 Fed. Reg. 46621) proposing to create an exemption to the contraceptive coverage requirement for certain religious employers, defining the term “religious employer” so narrowly as to exclude Catholic hospitals and health care organizations as well as other religious institutional employers. CHA objected strenuously to the inappropriately narrow definition in its comment letter date September 22, 2011 and objected again when it was announced in January 2012 that the Administration would not make any changes to the definition.

The final rule released on February 10, 2012 implemented the narrow religious exemption as proposed, but also indicated the Administration’s intent to propose additional rules to implement the contraceptive coverage requirement in a way that would accommodate the concerns of nonexempt religious employers with objections to providing, paying for or referring for contraceptive coverage. While this new development seemed at the time to be a good first step, our examination and study of the proposal as outlined then and in the ANPRM has not relieved our initial concerns. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth below, we continue to believe that it is imperative for the Administration to abandon the narrow definition of “religious employer” and instead use an expanded definition to exempt from the contraceptive mandate not only churches, but also Catholic hospitals, health care organizations and other ministries of the Church. If the government continues to pursue the policy that all employees should have access to contraceptive services, then it should find a way to provide and pay for these services directly without requiring any direct or indirect involvement of “religious employers,” as broadly defined.

The Definition Of “Religious Employer” Must Be Broadened To Cover All Ministries Of The Church.

The Departments state in the ANPRM the two goals they seek to achieve:

-- To maintain the provision of contraceptive coverage without cost sharing to individuals who receive coverage through non-exempt, non-profit religious organizations with religious objections to contraceptive coverage in the simplest way possible, and

--To protect such religious organizations from having to contract, arrange or pay for contraceptive coverage.

The most effective way to achieve the Departments’ second stated goal would be to actually exempt objecting religious organizations from the mandate by expanding the definition of religious employer to include them. This approach would align the policy under the women’s preventive care regulation with existing federal law on conscience protection. The exemption in the final rule is narrower than any conscience clause ever enacted in federal law and reflects an unacceptable change in federal policy regarding religious beliefs.

The ANPRM suggests that Code Section 414 could provide the basis for a definition of the organizations that would quality for the proposed accommodation. We reiterate our suggestion contained in our September 22nd letter that the concepts contained in Section 414(e) be used instead to develop a broader and more appropriate religious employer exemption to the contraceptive mandate. Under those principles, an organization would be covered by the exemption if it “shares common religious bonds and convictions with a church.” This definition would exempt from the contraceptive mandate Catholic hospitals and health care organizations as well as other ministries of the Church.

Making this change could help address the serious constitutional questions created by the Departments’ current approach, in which the government essentially parses a bona fide religious organization into secular and religious components solely to impose burdens on the secular portion. To make this distinction is to create a false dichotomy between the Catholic Church and the ministries through which the Church lives out the teachings of Jesus Christ. Catholic health care providers are participants in the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Our mission and our ethical standards in health care are rooted in and inseparable from the Catholic Church and it's teachings about the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.

If The Government Insists That All Employees Have Access to Contraceptive Coverage Without Cost Sharing, Then It Should Provide And Pay for These Services Directly.

As noted above, the Departments’ first goal as outlined in the ANPRM is to maintain the provision of contraceptive coverage without cost sharing to individuals who receive coverage through non-exempt, non-profit religious organizations with religious objections to contraceptive coverage in the simplest way possible. In the ANPRM, the Departments seek comments on (1) the approach of using the insurer to provide contraceptive coverage to beneficiaries of insured plans; and (2) several alternative approaches for implementing its intended accommodation for self-insured religious employers with objections to providing contraceptive coverage.

The more we learn, the more it appears that the ANPRM approaches for both insured and self-insured plans would be unduly cumbersome and would be unlikely to adequately meet the religious liberty concerns of all of our members and other Church ministries. Given this, if the Departments unfortunately continue to pursue the course that all employees must have access to contraceptive services without cost, then the government will need to develop a way to pay for and provide such services directly to those employees who desire such coverage without any direct or indirect involvement of religious employers (under the expanded definition described above.)...

In conclusion, for the reasons stated above and those included in our letter of September 22, 2011, we urge you at the very least to expand the definition of religious employer using the principles behind Section 414(e) of the Internal Revenue Code to make clear that religious employers, including Catholic hospitals and health care organizations, are exempt from the contraceptive mandate.

SVILUPPO: Late Friday afternoon, CHA posted a (pdf) copy of the full letter on its website.

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From SSPX, A Response "In A Reasonable Time"... Or....

SVILUPPO: Just shy of 12.30 Eastern (6pm Rome), the following communiqué was released by the SSPX's General House, here below in the provided English translation:

On Wednesday, June 13, 2012, Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, accompanied by the First Assistant General, Father Niklaus Pfluger, was received by Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who delivered to him his dicastery’s evaluation of the Doctrinal Declaration sent in by the Society on April 15, 2012, in response to the Doctrinal Preamble submitted on September 14, 2011, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

During this meeting, Bishop Fellay listened to explanations and further details from Cardinal Levada, to whom he presented the situation of the Society of Saint Pius X and spelled out the doctrinal difficulties posed by the Second Vatican Council and the Novus Ordo Missae. The desire for additional clarifications could result in a new phase of discussions.

At the end of this long, two-hour interview, Bishop Fellay received a draft document proposing a Personal Prelature, in the case of a possible canonical recognition of the Society of Saint Pius X. During the meeting the situation of the three other bishops of the Society was not discussed.

At the conclusion of that meeting, it was hoped that the dialogue might continue so as to allow the parties to arrive at a solution for the good of the Church and of souls.

* * *

(7.05am ET) -- After yesterday's two and a half hour evening summit at the CDF offices ended with sparse comment on all sides, the Holy See Press Office has released the following statement on Cardinal William Levada's meeting with the head of the Society of St Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay (standing, foreground):

On the afternoon of Wednesday 13 June, Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and president of the Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei', met with Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X who was accompanied by an assistant. Also present at the encounter were Archbishop Luis Ladaria S.J., secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Msgr. Guido Pozzo, secretary of the Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei'.

The purpose of the meeting was to present the Holy See's evaluation of the text submitted in April by the Society of St. Pius X in response to the Doctrinal Preamble which the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith had presented to the Society on 14 September 2011. The subsequent discussion offered an opportunity the provide the appropriate explanations and clarifications. For his part, Bishop Fellay illustrated the current situation of the Society of St. Pius X and promised to make his response known within a reasonable lapse of time.

Also during the meeting, a draft document was submitted proposing a Personal Prelature as the most appropriate instrument for any future canonical recognition of the Society.

As was stated in the communique released on 16 May 2012, the situation of the other three bishops of the Society of St. Pius X will be dealt with separately and singularly.

At the end of the meeting the hope was expressed that this additional opportunity for reflection would also contribute to reaching full communion between the Society of St. Pius X and the Apostolic See.

According to early buzz, Fellay's response would be unlikely to come until after the lead traditionalist group's next general chapter, scheduled for 11-13 July at its headquarters in Econe, Switzerland.

As previously noted, the status of a personal prelature -- an extraterritorial entity that, in practice, may establish its own churches, seminaries, schools and other institutions independent of the local diocese -- is currently enjoyed by only one organization: Opus Dei, which was given the standing in 1982 by Blessed John Paul II. The global "Work of God" is headed by a bishop who, for juridical purposes, is referred to as the Prelate.

(On a semi-related note -- perhaps even more interesting now in retrospect -- toward the end of John Paul's 27-year reign, some rumors maintained that the late pontiff considered extending the status of a prelature to the Legionaries of Christ, who markedly rose in favor at the end of the Wojtyla papacy before a precipitous fall on Pope Benedict's watch.)

In an extended interview with the Society's official news organ released last week, the SSPX superior said that "Rome no longer makes total acceptance of Vatican II a prerequisite for the canonical solution" of the fraternity's return.

"[T]he attitude of the official Church is what changed," Fellay said. "We did not."

He added that the Society "were not the ones who asked for an agreement; the pope is the one who wants to recognize us."

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Bench Pointers

Before anyone asks, no idea where the Fortnight Finger came from, nor how you can get one of your own. As soon as word comes in on that, we'll pass it along.

With a report on Communications -- a key thrust of yesterday's remarks by the Nuncio -- the public part of Day 2 of the Midsummer Classic in Atlanta begins at 9am Eastern (an hour earlier than yesterday's start). Lest anybody needs a catch-up, on-demand video of yesterday's Floor business is posted.

Most of this Thursday's agenda, however, will take place in closed-door regional meetings and executive session, the latter of which became a mainstay of USCCB plenaries ten years ago this week at the historic Summer Meeting in Dallas.

PHOTO: Reuters

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"You Broke Open My Deafness": At Patrick's "Purgatory," The Vatican Meets The Victims

As noted in the moment, last night Cardinal Marc Ouellet -- the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and a key B16 confidant -- spent an evening's seclusion at Lough Derg, the traditional site of Irish repentance, in atonement for the scandals of sex-abuse and cover-up which have gutted the Isle church over the last two decades, taking on the mission at the Pope's "express request."

The Canadian prelate's overnight came in the context of his assignment as Benedict XVI's personal representative to this week's 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. While it previously emerged that the cardinal had received requests for a meeting from groups of survivors, only this afternoon was it announced that Ouellet met for two hours with a "representative" delegation of victims from both the country's church-run residential institutions and Irish dioceses during his stay on the Donegal island.

According to a communiqué from the Irish bishops, during the encounter "each survivor spoke of his or her own personal experience of abuse and its impact on their lives."

The meeting echoed the emotional private sessions Benedict has held with victims on several occasions during his pontificate, the first of which took place in Washington during the Pope's 2008 trip to the US' East Coast.

Following the meeting, Ouellet celebrated Mass for the group. During his stay, the Vatican chief was accompanied (above) by the New York-born "director" of the Pope's intended reformation of the Irish church: the newly-named Nuncio to Dublin, Archbishop Charlie Brown, long a collaborator of the now-pontiff's at the CDF, who Benedict ordained himself on Epiphany Day this year.

Known in Ireland as "St Patrick's Purgatory" due to a story from the patron's legend, the choice of Lough Derg as the venue for the survivors meeting struck at least some prominent parties as "strange." In one early response, Marie Collins -- one of the country's most prominent survivors -- mused whether "the Papal Legate [saw] it as part of his penance to talk to survivors."

Collins was the lone victim to speak at the first-ever Vatican-sponsored conference on clergy sex-abuse at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University held in February, during which Ouellet led a liturgy of repentance.

Here, this morning's full homily given by the cardinal-prefect....

And following Ouellet's preach, the Prayer of the Faithful included the following intercessions:

-- For the failure to love, respect, nurture and cherish young people, particularly the most vulnerable, we ask your forgiveness. Lord, hear us.

-- For the crimes and sins of sexual and physical abuse perpetrated against children and young people, especially in Church-run institutions, by clergy and other servants of the Church. Lord, hear us.

-- For the inadequate response often given by Church leaders when abused people told their stories, we ask forgiveness. Lord, hear us.

-- That all whose lives have been broken by abuse of any kind may experience support and lasting healing. Lord, hear us....

...Lord, graciously hear us.

PHOTO: Catholic Communications Office

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