Results tagged “romancatholic”

Pope Benedict makes his move for British domination: The NY Times reports, " In an extraordinary bid to lure traditionalist Anglicans en masse, the Vatican on Tuesday announced that it would make it easier for Anglicans who are uncomfortable with their church’s acceptance of women priests and openly gay bishops to join the Roman Catholic Church... If entire parishes or even dioceses leave the Church of England for the Catholic church, it will probably set off battles over ownership of church buildings and land." Anglicans could maintain a distinct identity under an "Apostolic Constitution."

Staten Island Roman Catholic parishes are hoping to encourage Catholics to come back to the church in a borough-wide "parish mission." The Staten Island Advance reports that 35 "priests from the Redemptorist order, and one Augustinian, have taken up residence at two dozen parishes for the mission." They are trying to remind Roman Catholics that in spite of "sins," they are not "unforgivable." This includes women who have had abortions and people who get divorces; one priest explains, "Say you have a Catholic celebrity who gets married before a justice of the peace and then divorced. There is no need to annul that marriage because it did not take place in church. So even if that celebrity remarries, he is still welcome to receive communion." Well, that clears everything up! Semi-related: P. Diddy was seen dressed as the Ponitff for Halloween at Pacha.

A week and a half ago, former NJ Governor James McGreevey and his ex-wife Dina Matos McGreevey were fighting over a birthday party McGreevey and his partner were planning for 6-year-old daughter Jacqueline, another public spat in their contentious divorce. In spite of a judge's repeated requests for the McGreeveys to settle their differences for the sake of their daughter, we know a lot about their squabbling. The Post runs down the greatest hits. Matos...

The Manhattan District Attorney's office announced that the Reverend David Ajemian was arrested on charges of stalking and threatening Conan O'Brien. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston placed Ajemian, a 46-year-old priest in Stoneham, Massachusetts, on leave. The DA's office says that Ajemian had sent letters (some on parish letterhead!) to O'Brien's offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and home, contacted his parents, and tried to attend tapings of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He was...

A look at some noteworthy television this week:

Before we dive into the Times' weddings and celebrations announcements, we'd like to note that the Styles section has an article for guests thinking about buying tableware gifts for upcoming weddings. The article suggests buying colorful accessory plates and bowls for couples who may have registered for white-only dinnerware. We're fans of white-only dinnerware, because it's very versatile, it doesn't have to be too expensive, and it can be dressed up or down. If you should break a piece, you won't be too heartbroken because it shouldn't be too hard to replace.

And with that, he's trying to convince the conservative voters out there that he's a good choice. He gave this opinion at Houston Baptist university, where one poli sci major said, "Overall, I thought it was a great speech. I think it was a good political stance to take. He's sitting right in the middle," but then admitted he wouldn't vote for Giuliani because he's anti-abortion. Of course, given that Giuliani donated to Planned Parenthood in the 1990s, the conservatives are having a field day with him.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese's decision to close a number of city churches may have been inevitable, but it doesn't make for very good PR for the Catholic Church, especially when you see distraught parishioners being led from a church, handcuffed for trespassing. Last night, six female parishioners at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in East Harlem were arrested after holding a vigil to protest the church's closure. One of the parishioners, Carmen Villegas, told WABC 7, "If you experience going to your home, and that your locks have been changed, you feel that you have been evicted from your home. So when I saw the changing of those locks, I feel evicted from my home."

That's the headline in both the Post and the News today. In a long-expected announcement yesterday the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York issued their final list of parishes that they are closing. A total of twenty-one parishes in the Archdiocese, which covers the Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island and several upstate counties, will be closed. Ten parishes will be shut down completely while eleven others will be merged with neighboring parishes.

Where's Reverend Billy? That quote is from today's NY Times article about people trying to stop a Wal-Mart from coming to the Bronx. Nevermind that Wal-Mart hasn't officially said that they'd like to bring one of its store to the borough - activists are just making sure it never ever happens. This is in spite of the majority of Bronx residents saying they would welcome a Wal-Mart.

As we mentioned yesterday in Extra, Extra, this week brought Manhattan preservationists some bad news and some bad news with a side of hope.

Looks like St. Brigid was just the beginning...

Just yesterday we were discussing the destruction of the Rivington Street Temple. That was a real loss for the Lower East Side. The building was a classic: arguably beautiful, with real historic value. Contrast that to the Catholic Center at NYU at 58 Washington Square South. This is an ugly building, styled in the conventions of the post-war brutalism movement. The interior is slightly more pleasing to the eye, but the overall, the structure is a blight on the neighborhood. As such, we were glad to hear news that the Archdiosese has decided to knock it down. Washington Square News reports:

Some intriguing legal news: A panel is suggesting that NY State overhaul divorce laws to allow no-fault divorces. Which means that two parties that want to divorce can do so more easily, as the current law states, as the NY Times puts it, "one party in the divorce must allege cruel and inhumane treatment, adultery, or abandonment — literal or sexual — for a year." This would be good for people who want to break up but probably bad for divorce lawyers and the Roman Catholic Church; Judge Judith Kaye, who is interested in this issue, said it might also mean divorcing parties wouldn't have to resort to making up things about each other in order to forward the divorce. Hmm, if this happens, Gothamist wonders if there will be even more green card marriages - no more one year wait at the end - just the waiting for the visit from the INS.

And like the Borg, NYU continues to assimilate lower Manhattan. "More students have indicated they want to live closer to the Unions Square area," NYU vice president for residential education Tom Ellett told the Washington Square News, so "it will become a hub of of the University." Resistance is futile. As if to prove the point, NYU now plans to build a dorm at the site of St. Ann's Church (110 E. 12th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues). Keeping the facade they would build a 190,000 square-foot residence hall, with air rights from the Post Office on the corner. And unlike some of their other recent dorms (2nd street dorm we're looking at you) NYU is actually saying they are going to buy this one after its built instead of leasing it.

-A Brownsville man was found stabbed to death Thursday when his landlord and a police officer broke in to evict him.

The Manhattan Jaspers and the Seton Hall Pirates both look to move into the Sweet Sixteen with upset victories today. The two teams have more than a things in common - a Roman Catholic background, relatively small enrollments, history that dates back to the 1850s, and both are playing games in Raleigh, North Carolina today against teams from North Carolina. Both games will be difficult, with the Jaspers and Pirates playing against higher-profile teams in a hostile environment (Raleigh is a stone's throw away from Wake and Duke), but anyone that was watching games on Thursday and Friday know that almost anything can happen.