Cause for beatification of Abp. Sheen stalled by fight over his corpse

Walt has been following the cause for the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who could be called the first (and only) Catholic televangelist. Walt hesitates to use that word, though, as it calls to mind a negative stereotype. Abp. Sheen was was not the "hallelujah-send-me-your-love-offerings" type. Rather, in his Life Is Worth Living TV series, he brought understanding of the Faith and hope for salvation to millions in America and around the world.

In January 2011, Walt posted "Cause for beatification of Archbishop Sheen revived". 18 months later we read "Archbishop Sheen a step closer to being beatified". And this past June came the good news "Vatican experts verify authenticity of miracle attributed to intercession of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen".

The miracle referred to was the revival -- bringing back to life -- of Bonnie Engstrom's stillborn baby, after she prayed for Archbishop Sheen's intercession. That miracle should fulfill the last formal requirement for the prelate's beatification, but, as Andrea Tornielli reports in his Vatican Insider blog, there's been a hitch.

Earlier this week, Most Rev. Daniel Jenky, Bishop of Peoria, announced "with immense sadness" that the Vatican has decided to suspend the cause for Archbishop Sheen's beatification, after failing to reach an agreement with the Archdiocese of New York about the transfer of Archbishop Sheen's remains.

The problem is that, before a beatification can be finalized, the remains of the deceased must be inspected and first-class relics prepared. This would normally be done in the place where the person to be beatified was buried. Archbishop Sheen is buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, as the Archdiocese insists was his wish, but the cause for beatification is being led by the Diocese of Peoria, where Archbishop Sheen was born and raised, and began his priesthood. Hence the conflict.

Bishop Jenky said that he had been "personally assured on several occasions" that the New York archdiocese would cooperate in the transfer, but New York officials later withdrew their support and Vatican officials were unable to negotiate an agreement. Rev. Joseph Zwilling, speaking for the Archdiocese of New York, said on the day following Bishop Jenky's announcement that the archdiocese had not received any order from the Vatican for removal of Archbishop Sheen's remains. And, he added, the Sheen family does not wish the archbishop's remains to be moved.

It all seems rather unseemly, doesn't it. The word "unchristian" springs to mind. Mrs. Engstrom told a Catholic newspaper that her family was "incredibly saddened and confused" by the news that the cause had stalled, but she would continue to pray for an end to the impasse. As should all good Catholics.

American Catholics to lead revitalization of the Faith? Really???

Walt is shaking his head [so hard his little brain is rattling. Ed.] at a statement reportedly made by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. Speaking at the Pontifical College Joesphinum, in Ohio, on April 27th, Abp. Vigano called on American Catholics to "lead the entire Church in the world" to revitalize the Faith. And, he said, his call was "the vision of the Holy Father".

Which leads me to wonder, has Abp. Vigano taken leave of his senses, or is it the Pope himself who needs to have his vision corrected. Granted, the Faith in Europe is in a sad state of decline, and badly needs an example. But looking to the liberalism and unorthodoxy of the mainstream Catholic Church in America as a source of leadership and inspiration... that really is a very bad joke. Walt will tell you why.

Item: According to a recent opinion poll, "Catholic" voters in the US still (narrowly) favour the re-election of Barack Hussein Obama -- the president who has virtually declared war on the Church by mandating that Catholic institutions provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs to their employees.

Item: In April, Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria was widely criticized by other Catholic bishops and priests for having the temerity to denounce the Obama régime and remind Catholics that it is their duty to vote their consciences.

Item: Bishop Jenky came under "friendly fire" from the faculty of Notre Dame University, but that's nothing. Now the IRS is said to be considering an investigation of his remarks. There (potentially) goes the Church’s tax-exempt status!

Item: Many so-called "Catholic" colleges and universities in the USA will feature pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage commencement speakers in the coming weeks. Among those providing a bully pulpit for anti-Catholicism is Georgetown University (visited by Walt in person just two weeks ago) which will host "Health and Human Services" Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's point person on the pro-choice file.

CatholicCulture reminds us that in 2008, Archbishop Joseph Naumann revealed that he had asked Sebelius not to receive Holy Communion because of her support for legalized abortion. Four years earlier, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that "the Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

The Cardinal Newman Society has collected well over 12,000 signatures on an e-petition opposing the appearance of Ms Sebelius. (Click here to add your signature!) And yet the Catholic "leaders" Abp. Vigano is counting on -- his office, by the way, is not all that far from GU -- remain unmoved.

Item: Speaking of "unmoved", a "Catholic" wimmin's group calling itself the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the U.S., recently rebuked by a Vatican report for its departure from Catholic teaching in several areas, is far from bowing its head. The LCWR has enlisted the support of the lamestream media, which is accusing the hierarchy of trying to suppress progressive opinion in the Church. The real story is quite different. The Vatican's problems with the LCWR are doctrinal, not political. Period.

One last item: A survey of America’s youngest voters has found that many young people are drifting away from the religion in which they were raised. The study by Georgetown University’s Berkley Center found that Catholics and mainline Protestants were most likely to change their religious affiliations, with Catholic students rejecting their Faith at higher rates than non-Catholics. Hardly surprising, at Georgetown.

So... who is misinformed about the state of the Church in the USA? Is it Archbishop Vigano or Pope Benedict himself? Could it be that the situation in Europe is so dire that Catholicism in America looks healthy by comparison?

Another question. Whence cometh the optimism of the Holy Father (or Abp. Vigano) that the worldwide loss of the Faith can be halted (let alone reversed) by the leadership and example of the American Church?

Could it be that the Pope and his minion have forgotten about... or simply do not believe in... the prophecy and request of Our Lady of Fatima? The Fatima Prophecy makes no mention of the United States. The Blessed Virgin names Russia as the key to world peace... or the agent of world chastisement.

It is Russia, She tells us, not the United States, that will revitalize the Faith, but only after Russia is converted to Catholicism. And that will happen only after the Pope, acting in union with the bishops (including Abp. Vigano), consecrates Russia to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart.

It is to Our Lady, not the American Church, that the Holy Father must look for the means to revitalize the True Faith. Let us pray he heeds Her requests... soon!

US bishop rips Obama, calls for "heroic Catholicism"

Daniel Jenky, Bishop of the Diocese of Peoria IL, told 500 men who attended the diocese’s annual men’s march and Mass that "the days in which we live now require heroic Catholicism, not casual Catholicism."

Noting that "the world, the flesh, and the devil will always love their own, and will always hate us," Bishop Jenky went on to say: "We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead [must] be Catholics by conviction. In our own families, in our parishes, where we live and where we work ... we must be bold witnesses to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We must be a fearless army of Catholic men, ready to give everything we have for the Lord, who gave everything for our salvation."

You can read the full text of Bishop Jenky's homily here. He mentioned President Obama three times. "In clear violation of our First Amendment rights," said the bishop, "Barack Obama with his radical, pro-abortion and extreme secularist agenda now seems intent on following a similar path" as other governments throughout history who "have tried to force Christians to huddle and hide only within the confines of their churches."

Will the anti-Christian president -- and the cafeteria Catholics like Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi who only follow the Faith if it doesn't cost them votes -- prevail against the Church of God? Bishop Jenky thinks not.

The Church survived and even flourished during centuries of terrible persecution, during the days of the Roman Empire. The Church survived barbarian invasions. The Church survived wave after wave of Jihads. The Church survived the age of revolution. The Church survived Nazism and Communism. And in the power of the Resurrection, the Church will survive the hatred of Hollywood, the malice of the media, and the mendacious wickedness of the abortion industry.

The Church will survive the entrenched corruption and sheer incompetence of our Illinois state government, and even the calculated disdain of the President of the United States, his appointed bureaucrats in HHS, and of the current majority of the federal Senate. May God have mercy on the souls of those politicians who pretend to be Catholic in church, but in their public lives, rather like Judas Iscariot, betray Jesus Christ by how they vote and how they willingly cooperate with intrinsic evil.

As Christians we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, but as Christians we must also stand up for what we believe and always be ready to fight for the Faith.

To which Walt can only add "Amen."