My World of Religion, Politics, Entertainment and Social Issues

Dear Blog Visitors: While Pope Benedict XVI and I have experienced differences in terms of a few church policies, we at least share a profound love of classical music. As an undergraduate student at the Eastman School of Music in the 1960s, it was my career ambition to become the conductor of a major symphony orchestra. While I did very well with my conducting studies, I was not as proficient with the piano. Anyone who has aspirations toward the conducting podium must be equally proficient with the piano; unfortunately, my piano skills were not good enough to cast me into the highly competitive conducting pool. However, I did manage to win a conducting competition in the 60s that resulted in my guest-conducting the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in Rochester's Eastman Theatre. I also did a minimal amount of conducting thereafter. Pope Benedict would be pleased to know that for many years, my wife (Brenda) and I were able to utilize our musical skills in the church. (Brenda ha...

Dear Blog Visitors: From time-to-time, I will offer a posting in the entertainment category, especially since I am a life-long film buff. I am deeply pleased that my favorite actor/director, Clint Eastwood, was honored at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. I am equally pleased that Sean Penn presented the award to him. (Clint directed Sean in 'Mystic River,' for which he received an academy award for best actor.) I am obviously disappointed that Clint didn't receive a best actor nomination by the Motion Picture academy for his terrific job in 'Gran Torino.' However, I want you to see the video I made prior to the Academy Award nominations, in which I both pitched 'Gran Torino' and highlighted a few other notable films Clint has given us over the years. Following the video, you will find an article that details the award Clint Eastwood received in Santa Barbara. I am especially delighted that Clint is in good health and will be providing us wi...

Dear Blog Visitors: If you have been a frequent visitor to this blog, you have found that most of my postings deal with the serious business of church-reform and related theology/history/reflection. However, I feel it is good for the soul to lighten-up on occasion, such as I did when I was part of a radio program in the 1970s. (I hope to provide some of my radio tapes to an audio site in the near future.) I hope you will find at least a little bit of humor in the three videos that follow. The first two are somewhat of a spoof on exercise videos, my focus being simple exercises priests can do in the comfort of their rectories. (Sadly, priests have little time for exercise these days, so I used a little humor to prod them into getting into a routine.) The third video utilizes music by Leroy Anderson - namely, "The Typewriter." In this particular video, I am typing letters to bishops with the musical background. Without further delay, here are the three videos:

Dear Blog Visitors: Our local newspaper ran a feature article by Bob Marcotte a few days ago on the late Rochester Bishop, Bernard McQuaid. The article was well-written in that it focused on many of McQuaid's accomplishments during his historic tenure, inclusive of his creating the very first organized Catholic School system in the United States. An interesting bit of information that was not provided in Bob Marcotte's article is the fact that while Bishop McQuaid was fiercely loyal to Rome, he nevertheless displayed notable independence when his conscience dictated that he do so. A classic example was his decision to abstain from voting on the infallibility of the pope during Vatican I deliberations. (He was only one of two American bishops to abstain.) In retrospect, his decision was correct, for the doctrine of infallibility has only been used once since its inception - namely, the infallible decree that Mary was assumed into heaven. Many have incorrectly stated that Pope...

Dear Blog Visitors: I have produced a participatory video in which you can respond to prayers for President Obama. After each prayer intention, the response is "Lord Hear Our Prayer." Here is the text of the prayer intentions: For peace in our world, that President Barack Obama is able to bridge differences that have brought despair to God's people. We pray to the Lord. LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER. For Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that she serves President Obama well and that nations of the world come to see the United States as a beacon of democracy. We pray to the Lord. LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER. For those who have suffered the ravages of an economic downturn, that President Obama is able to bring about relief through new job initiatives and banking regulations. We pray to the Lord. LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER. For an end to the plague of racism that has dominated our nation's landscape for too many years. We pray to the Lord. LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER. For President Obama'...

Dear Blog Visitors: For the most part, I like to write my own articles for this blog. However, on occasion, I like to present an article that is well-written by another author. What follows is an outstanding article by Douglas W. Kmiec, who is the Caruso Family Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law at Pepperdine University School of Law. When you read this wonderful piece, you will know immediately why I have posted it. Like myself, Professor Kmiec has been targeted by right-wing Catholic bloggers. In my case, I have been attacked for the simple reason that I wish to bring reform to the Roman Catholic Church, i.e., the ordination of women and married men. In the case of Professor Kmiec, he has been attacked for the simple reason that he is a Catholic Republican who supports Barack Obama. A rough estimate indicates that right-wing Catholic bloggers only stand for the beliefs of approximately 3-5% of our nation's Catholic population. For the most part, they post on blogs ano...

Dear Blog Visitors: I would like to share one of my recent articles with you. This particular one was published in the January/February 2009 issue of 'CORPUS Reports.' If you have not visited the CORPUS website, be sure to do so. The address is www.corpus.org. Amongst the menu items at the site, you will find my monthly audio address. In the article that follows, I address the tenth anniversary of Spiritus Christi Church, my new ventures in YouTube and a my reflection on the next twenty years. Here is the article: AN ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AND SOME NEW VENTURES By Ray Grosswirth, CORPUS Media Liaison January/February edition of 'CORPUS Reports' It has been a few months since I wrote an article for CORPUS Reports. So, I thought it was about time for me to pull up a chair in front of the keyboard, so I can give you an update on my latest activities. This article will be divided into three sections: 1.) The Tenth Anniversary of Spiritus Christi Church; 2.) My Adventu...

Dear Blog Visitors: I want to extend my best wishes for 2009. Considering everything occuring in the Roman Catholic Church, I hope this will be the year Pope Benedict XVI sees fit to convene Vatican III. As we look back at the late 1950s, the church was in the midst of heated debates, which encouraged John XXIII to convene Vatican II in 1962. We are in a similar heated period now, whereby written and verbal warfare exists between conservative and liberal forces within Roman Catholicism. Perhaps what is needed is a centrist church, whereby both sides of the aisle can reach constructive compromise. Whenever I am asked who my contemporary Catholic role models are, I always mention Rev. Richard McBrien. I am therefore pleased that the Boston Globe ran the article that follows my comments. May God bless all of you in 2009. Sincerely, Ray Grosswirth BOSTON GLOBE Q&A A talk with The Rev. Richard P. McBrien Life as a theologian, commentator - and lightning rod By Michael Paulson | De...