Some Senior Anglicans Wish They Could Strangle the Ordinariate at Birth

But they cannot: this is an idea whose time has come.

It’s William Oddie at his best…

… The fact is that the ordinariate, though it has good will from some Anglicans who can see the benefit to themselves… has deadly enemies who would rather cut off their noses to spite their faces than do anything that might help the ordinariate. They would love to destroy it at the outset. But they cannot do that. This is an idea whose time has come. Those who join the ordinariate know that life isn’t going to be easy. But they are determined; they are also buoyed up by the exhilaration of this great adventure and by the prayers of many, including the Holy Father himself. These are stirring times: and nothing that Bishop Chartres and his ilk can do will achieve anything but demonstrate their own pettiness and spite.

Read it all here.

Israel Beckons Tourists to Virgin Mary Sites

MSNBC:

Jerusalem — Israel is inviting tourists to retrace the footsteps of the Virgin Mary, officials said Tuesday, in the latest campaign to bring Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land.

A new itinerary developed by the Tourism Ministry helps tour operators plan pilgrimages to sites where the mother of Jesus Christ lived and traveled. They include her birthplace near Nazareth in northern Israel, as well as Mary’s Spring and the Tomb of the Virgin near Jerusalem.

Tourism officials said Israel has long facilitated pilgrimages for Christians to travel in Jesus’ footsteps — spanning from the sites of his crucifixion and resurrection in Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee, where he is said to have walked on water. Working with Palestinians, Israel also facilitates visits to Bethlehem, the West Bank village of Jesus’ birth.

The Virgin Mary itinerary includes holy sites in the West Bank as well, including Bethlehem. Tourism officials said they work closely with the Palestinian on tourism matters, though this itinerary was not specifically coordinated with the Palestinians.

In 2010, 69 percent of Israel’s almost 3.5 million tourists were Christians — mostly Catholics. Now Israel is encouraging return visits by those who have already made their first pilgrimage.

Friar Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Roman Catholic Church’s custodian of the Holy Land, said that for the faithful, being able to touch and see biblical sites firsthand is a transformative experience.

“For us Christians, the Holy Land is the physical connection with the life of Jesus,” he said. “But we cannot talk about the life of Jesus without talking about his mother, the Holy Virgin.”…

Tourism professionals said Christian pilgrimages help Israel both economically and politically, because visitors tend to become supporters of Israel afterward.

Creating new travel products and marketing them specifically to Christians is the surest way to achieve that, said Elisa Leopold Moed, a Jew who founded Travelujah, a social network that promotes Christian tourism to Israel.

“The Christians feel passionate” about the sites so central to their faith, Moed said. “It’s burning inside of them.”

The entire piece is here.

Glock Pistol Sales Surge in Aftermath of Arizona Shootings

… One-day sales of handguns in Arizona jumped 60 percent to 263 on Jan. 10 compared with 164 the corresponding Monday a year ago, the second-biggest increase of any state in the country, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data.

Handgun sales rose 65 percent to 395 in Ohio; 16 percent to 672 in California; 38 percent to 348 in Illinois; and 33 percent to 206 in New York, the FBI data show. Sales increased nationally about 5 percent, to 7,906 guns…

“Whenever there is a huge event, especially when it’s close to home, people do tend to run out and buy something to protect their family,” said Don Gallardo, a manager at Arizona Shooter’s World in Phoenix, who said that the number of people signing up for the store’s concealed weapons class doubled over the weekend. Gallardo said he expects handgun sales to climb steadily throughout the week…

Bloomberg has the full report.

Terry Jones: 'International Judge the Koran Day'

Dr Terry Jones obviously hasn’t had enough attention yet:

The Gainesville pastor who attracted worldwide attention for threatening to burn the Quran is now planning another stunt.

Dr. Terry Jones now wants to put the Quran on trial, planning what he is calling “International Judge the Koran Day” on March 20 in Gainesville.

“We will have a prosecuting attorney. We will call witnesses. You can call witnesses. The Quran will be judged,” Jones said in a YouTube video.

Jones said the Muslim holy book incites terrorism, but he wants the public to be the final judge.

Jones claims that if the public “convicts” the Quran, he will destroy a copy by burning it, “drowning” it, shredding it or subjecting it to a firing squad.

Last summer, Jones backed down from plans to burn the Quran after world leaders warned him that his actions might incite violence.

And here is his video:

Silly man.

Church of England Braced for Wave of Defections to Catholic Church

Run, run, while you still can…

The Church of England is braced for the first wave of defections to the Roman Catholic Church this weekend when the Pope’s group for disaffected Anglicans opens its doors and three former bishops are ordained as priests.

The Telegraph has the rest.

Religious Leaders Call for Calm, Civility

Via The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life:

RNS) Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas was thousands of miles away from the shooting rampage that rocked his Arizona diocese on Saturday (Jan. 8), but the emotional shock hit him hard.

“It broke me up,” said Kicanas, who was in Jerusalem attending a meeting of Catholic bishops on peace in the Holy Land. “I could not sleep. I just wanted to return home as soon as possible,” the bishop wrote to his spokesman.

The victims of Saturday’s shooting include a federal judge and devout Roman Catholic who attended Mass daily, and a 9-year-old girl who had received her First Communion at St. Odilia Parish in Tucson last year. Four other victims died and 14 were wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who police believe was the target of accused gunman Jared Lee Loughner.

After news of the shooting broke, Kicanas said Catholics in Jericho asked how to prevent further brutality. “I wish I knew the answer,” the bishop said.

”But as the world continues to seek an answer to that question, we can, each in our own way, strive to respect others, speak with civility, try to understand one another and to find healthy ways to resolve our conflicts.”…

Read on here.

Hate Message Spray-painted at Catholic Church

Though misspelled, this is really appalling:

Police were called Tuesday morning to investigate a report that “Kill THE CATHLICS!” was spray-painted on a wall near the entrance of St. Boniface Catholic Church.

About 7:15 a.m., police were sent to the church at 120 N. Janss St. regarding the incident on the west side of the church, police said.

The misspelled graffiti was expected to be removed Wednesday. Parishioners have been asking what happened, said Maria Alcala, a secretary at the church.

Alcala said police took an incident report and will review surveillance video to determine when the incident occurred and to see if they can determine who did it.

The Church is in Anaheim,  California. I do hope that they catch the person/s responsible.

My, don’t we just live in world filled with hate?

HT:   Catholic Vote.org

UPDATE:   California: arrest made in ‘kill Catholics’ graffiti case here.

Police in southern California have arrested a 53-year-old woman on suspicion of spraying anti-Catholic graffiti at two parishes in the Diocese of Orange. One message read “Kill Cathlick’s”; the other read, “Kill the Cathlicks.” Kim Rebar Henry is also suspected of spraying graffiti disparaging Asians and African-Americans.