Humor at St. Peter's expense.

Karl Rahner, Hans Kung and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger all die on the same day, and go to meet St. Peter to know their fate. 

St. Peter approaches the three of them, and tells them that he will interview each of them to discuss their views on various issues.

He then points at Rahner and says "Karl! In my office..." After 4 hours, the door opens, and Rahner comes stumbling out of St. Peter's office. He is highly distraught, and is mumbling things like "Oh God, that was the hardest thing I've ever done! How could I have been so wrong! So sorry...never knew..." He stumbles off into Heaven, a testament to the mercy of Our God.

St. Peter follows him out, and sticks his finger in Kung's direction and "Hans! You're next..." After 8 hours, the door opens, and Kung comes out, barely able to stand. He is near collapse with weakness and a crushed spirit. He, too, is mumbling things like "Oh God, that was the hardest thing I've ever done! How could I have been so wrong! So sorry...never knew..." He stumbles off into Heaven, a testament to the mercy of Our God.

Lastly, St. Peter, emerging from his office, says to Cardinal Ratzinger, "Joseph, your turn." TWELVE HOURS LATER, St. Peter stumbles out the door, apparently exhausted, saying, "Oh God, that's the hardest thing I've ever done..."




By the way,

The pearly gates is an informal name for the gateway to Heaven according to some Christian denominations. It is inspired by the description of the New Jerusalem in Book of Revelation 21:21. 
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate being made from a single pearl.^[1]

The image of the gates in popular culture is a set of large, white or wrought-iron gates in the clouds, guarded by Saint Peter (the keeper of the "keys to the kingdom"). Those not fit to enter heaven are denied entrance at the gates, and descend into Hell.^[2]

Pope Francis Tidbit from Reader

from Tiago,

I lived in Argentina from 2007 to 2010. Most of porteños (VOCAL those who live in the port city) are not believers but everyone knew who Bergoglio (now renamed as Francis) was and even though his dispute against the government he was respected by everyone.

I trust in his intentions in reforming the church, and I am positive he has the strength and the intelligence to do in spite of his age.

Good luck Francis! 



Pope Francis's general prayer intention for July 2013 is "That World Youth Day in Brazil may encourage all young Christians to become disciples and missionaries of the Gospel."

And It Begins: Tribunal Director – Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon

This post is VOCAL's take on the Year of Faith in the Archdiocese of Portland under our new Archbishop.  For decades the "Years of Alinsky" have driven this Archdiocese.  Priests that have lost their way had been leading us and some still do.

Laity has the task of asking questions of those that are paid by our collection plate monies regarding the errors that they encounter.  No longer can we just "wait and see".  As in the secular world around us, we can see how that attitude has served the people.  Souls are most important.

For the time is, that judgment should begin at the house of God. And if first at us, what shall be the end of them that believe not the gospel of God?     I Peter 4:17  Douay-Rheims Bible

  
TRIBUNAL DIRECTOR

Law, FT Employee

Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (Portland, OR)

Tribunal Director

The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon is looking for an experienced Tribunal Director with a thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of Canon Law. Applicants must be familiar with Church documents related to canon law, Tribunal procedures in first and second instance, and be able to conduct theological/pastoral analysis as well as prepare and present accurate and concise reports and recommendations.

Candidates must have a licentiate (JCL) in Canon Law. Minimum 2-4 years’ experience in similar position, including supervisory responsibilities, or any equivalent combination of education and experience which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the above described essential functions. Practicing Catholic with a valid driver’s license required. Bilingual in Spanish preferred.

Religious and clergy interested in applying must have the consent of their diocese or superior prior to submitting their application. Pay range is $62K to 72K DOE. Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume or curriculum vitae to hr@archdpdx.org detailing how their education and work experience makes them the ideal candidate.

From the Archdiocese Website:

The ministry of the Tribunal is varied. We work with those preparing to marry, as well as those seeking healing and release from a marriage that did not prove to be lasting, in which a partnership did not take place as the Church understands it. We provide research on a number of issues within Church law, and we provide education and support to priests, parish ministers, and other members of our wider Church community. 

Downtown Chapel/St. Andre Bessette Church - "The Wages of Mismanagement".

VOCAL DELETED AT PRIESTS REQUEST

Archbishop Sample and the pallium.

Archbishop Sample and the other Archbishops receiving their pallium from Pope Francis give us their reflections in this CNS article.  Archbishop Jackels (VOCAL Last #1 pick for Archbishop) has his reflections in bold as well as our Archbishops. 

Of the 34 recipients of the pallium, four were Americans: Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco; Archbishop Joseph Tobin of Indianapolis; Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland; and Archbishop Michael Jackels of Dubuque, Iowa.

We'll be happy to have Archbishop Sample back in Oregon leading his sheep and herding his goats towards Heaven

Archbishops reflect on the meaning of the pallium

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Making a pilgrimage to Rome with members of their flock, 34 archbishops named in the past year knelt before Pope Francis and received woolen bands symbolizing both their unity with him and their charge as shepherds of a local church.

At the beginning of a Mass June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the pope bestowed the pallium, a woolen band worn around the shoulders, on archbishops from 19 countries. They included: U.S. Archbishops Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco; Joseph W. Tobin of Indianapolis; Alexander K. Sample of Portand, Ore.; and Michael O. Jackels of Dubuque, Iowa; and U.S.-born Archbishop Gintaras Grusas of Vilnius, Lithuania.

Each year on the Jan. 21 feast of St. Agnes, the pope blesses two lambs raised by Trappist monks outside Rome. Benedictine nuns at the Monastery of St. Cecilia in Rome use wool from the blessed lambs to make the palliums, which are kept by St. Peter's tomb until the Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.

The palliums are about 3 inches wide and have a 14-inch strip hanging down the front and the back. The strips are finished with black silk, almost like the hooves of the sheep the archbishop is symbolically carrying over his shoulders.

Archbishop Jackels, one of the first bishops appointed by Pope Francis, told Catholic News Service, "To be quite honest, I was kind of hoping that maybe he would send the pallium by way of FedEx and say, 'Save the money and give it to the poor.'"

"I love Rome, but it's a hassle to travel and to be away from the archdiocese since I've only been there a month," he said. However, the story of the blessed lambs and the nuns making the pallium and having all the archbishops come to Rome once a year to receive it underlines its importance.

"This notion of the lambs' wool being placed over the shoulders of an archbishop is reminiscent of Jesus, the good shepherd, carrying the sheep back to the fold," he said. It reminded him of Pope Francis' talk to nuncios a week earlier about the qualities they should look for when suggesting candidates for him to name as bishops: "someone who is patient, gentle, merciful, like that image of the Good Shepherd carrying his sheep."

Archbishop Jackels said that in receiving the pallium he would pray that he would be more patient, gentle and merciful.

Being Catholic in the United States today often means being countercultural, especially on themes related to "the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person," he said.

At the same time, he said, he was thinking about Vietnamese Archbishop Francois Xavier Le Van Hong of Hue, who the Vatican said would receive his pallium in Vietnam, and what it means to live in a situation where church-state relations are particularly delicate.

Archbishop Cordileone said receiving the pallium is "a tremendous honor and I'm very humbled, recognizing my unworthiness. It is not an honor to exalt someone, but is a sign of communion."

The bond with St. Peter and with his successor, the pope, is emphasized by the Vatican keeping the pallium near St. Peter's tomb, he said. "It's a very poignant sign of the communion we share -- the bishops throughout the world with the head of the College of Bishops, the pope, going all the way back to the time of the Apostles."

Archbishop Tobin said he was "a little dazed" kneeling in front of the pope; "all I could stammer out in Spanish was, 'You can count on us.'"

As archbishop of Indianapolis, he said he tries to help the pope in his mission of unity by "trying to keep our people connected" to one another, but especially to the needs of Catholics around the world.

"A disturbing thing I find returning to the United States," after years of service as the head of the Redemptorists and then as secretary of the Vatican congregation for religious, "is just how forgetful the news media is of the world beyond America's shores or beyond the latest scandal of a movie star, politician or priest."

"By keeping our people connected with the Holy Father and with the center of the Catholic Church, we're also being connected with the world," he said.

Archbishop Sample said kneeling in front of the pope was "one of the most incredible feelings I have ever had in my life," a moment of "profound communion" with the pope and with the universal church.

The pallium reminded him that he has been called to take up the Lord's yoke, "a burden that is heavy in one sense, but light because the Lord gives us the strength to carry it."

Pope Francis told the archbishops that they are called to be a "servant of unity," and Archbishop Sample said building communion was a priority when he was bishop of Marquette, Mich., and is still a priority now that he is in Portland. "There is a lot to celebrate in our diversity, especially our cultural diversity, but we are one, we're catholic -- that's what it means to be Catholic, to be one universal church united in mission."

U.S.-born Archbishop Grusas told CNS that receiving the pallium from the pope is a reminder that the archbishop is "placed in charge of the herd, but they aren't yours, they are entrusted to you."

The 51-year-old archbishop said the pallium ceremony also is "a symbol of our unity with the pope and of the universality of the church. We all tend to focus on our parish, our diocese, our nation, but the pallium emphasizes our direct tie with the pope."

In fact, before the archbishops received their pallium, they publically recited an oath of fidelity and obedience to the church and to the pope.

Receiving the pallium on the feast of the martyred Sts. Peter and Paul also carries a message, the Lithuanian archbishop said. The shepherds are called to give their lives for their sheep, either with the shedding of their blood in times of persecution or by "going out into a society that isn't very receptive, a society that tries to isolate you and limit your ability to proclaim your views."

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Contributing to this story was Francis X. Rocca in Rome.

END

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