Pope Benedict XVI: Blogs
Mood:  special
Now Playing: Pope Urges Use of Blogs
Topic: Rome
Sunday 24 January 2010, the Chicago Sun Times had an article on page 18A.  I give the exact citation in case you think that this may be an Urban Legend! You may be interested, because I believe that our class is the only class, certainly from Europe, with its own Blog Web Site in operation since 2004, in addition to a regular Web Site.  

                           POPE URGES PRIESTS TO BLOG
     Vatican City  --  Pope Benedict XVI gave priests a new commandment: Go forth and blog.
     The pope has stepped up his presence on the Web, and now he's urging priests to use the multimedia tools to preach the Gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures.
     Just using e-mail or surfing the Web is not enough:  Priests should use cutting-edge technologies to express themselves and lead their communities, Benedict said in a message released by the Vatican.  Priests are "challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources," he said.
     He suggests priests use images, videos, animated features, blogs and Web Sites.  Benedict said young priests should become familiar with new media while still in the seminary.

Ecumenical News
Mood:  surprised
Now Playing: Actual Documents
Topic: Rome

Newspapers do not always give the actual documents for serious changes in church practice.  Here are the Roman documents which can be accessed on: http://www.papalencyclicals.net/  What are your feelings!  

Anglicanorum Coetibus (Providing for Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans Entering Into Full Communion With The Catholic Church [Apostolic Constitution], November 4, 2009 [English, Italian]

Complementary Norms for the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) November 4, 2009, [English, Italian]

2009 Reunion News
Mood:  party time!
Now Playing: Mulvihill Encourages Replies
Topic: Current Events
     The 2009 Reunion of the North American College, Rome, Class of 1965 is just around the corner.  Some classmates want to greet everyone who will attend.  Please leave a blog here!  Other classmates have news that can't wait for the reunion.  Please leave a blog here!  Still others may want to report their doings, their comings and goings, and their feelings.  Please leave a blog here!  We are all interested in your news and views.  Best wishes!

Return to Latin
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: John Mulvihill
Topic: Rome
Pope Benedict XVI presented the new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in June 2005, he urged the world to learn the basic Catholic prayers in Latin. This new book, a 200 page synthesis of the 1992 Catechism includes some of the suggested prayers in Latin. Several Web Sites also offer those Latin prayers:
www.ewtn.com/library/PRAYER/LATROSAR.htm
www.assumptionchurch.homestead.com/latinprayers.html
www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/index.html

Blog Bulletin Board
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: John Mulvihill
Topic: Current Events
This Bulletin Board for Current Events is at the request of a classmate who wants to keep us informed. All of you can update the class concerning events of note.

Papal Website, the Real Story
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: John Mulvihill
Topic: Rome
In 1995, Joaquin Navarro-Valls mentioned the Internet, and its potential to help the mission of the Church, to Pope John Paul II. The 75 year old Pontiff asked, "Are we already on the Internet?" When told it was awaiting his approval, the Pope said, "Do it immediately." On Christmas Day 1995, www.vatican.va went on line with a single page containing the Pope's Christmas homily, the Urbi et Orbi blessing, and a link to send him email. In the first 48 hours, more than 300,000 people from 70 countries visited the Vatican site and about 1,000 people left messages (Extension, August 2003).

Blogs Build Relationships
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: John Mulvihill
Topic: Blogs
Building relationships is one reason a growing number of small businesses are turning to blogs, or online journals on a Web site. "It gives a human voice to a company," said B. L. Ochman, a New York company President, because "People still do business with people they like and trust." (Chicago Tribune, 1 August 2005).

The relationship of classmates is also personal. One way to keep in contact, and to keep contact fresh, is "to blog".

Lifelong Learning
Mood:  sharp
Now Playing: John Mulvihill
Topic: Education
The promotion of lifelong learning has proved a popular and ever current topic. It may be relevant to our own situation and time of life. The entire issue of the magazine Congregations(Summer 2005) is dedicated to the lifelong learning. Of course, the idea was promoted nearly thirty years ago in the book The Three Boxes of Life by Richard N. Bolles (Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1978). A number of recent books and new Web sites have appeared on the subject of life long learning:

Clergy, Retirement, and Wholeness:
Looking Forward to the Third Age.
by Gwen Hagstrom Halaas
Alban Press #290 $18.00

To Know as We Are Known:
Education as a Spiritual Journey.
by Parker Palmer
San Francisco: Harper, 1993.

A Lifelong Call to Learn: Approaches to Continuing Education for Church Leaders.
by Robert Eldred Reber and D. Bruce Roberts, eds.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001.

Faith and Wisdom: Life Long Learning Opportunities for People of Faith.
www.faithandwisdom.org
This is a cooperative project of seven North American denominations providing clergy and lay leaders with information on continuing learning opportunities.

SACEM: Society for the Advancement of Continuing Education for Ministry.
www.sacem.com
This Web site provides information on lifelong learning centers, opportunities, locations and resources.

New Books on the Pope
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: John Mulvihill
Topic: Rome
Two new books out on Pope Benedict XVI were the recent subject of an interesting article in the magazine, America 15-22 August 2005, pp. 22-23. Since the books are really interesting in themselves, and really topical, I wonder if our readers have any opinions on their value:

The Rise of Benedict XVI:
The Inside Story of How the Pope Was Elected
and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church
by John L. Allen Jr.
Doubleday 249p $19.95
ISBN 0385513208

Let God's Light Shine Forth:
The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI
by Robert Moynihan, ed. and introduction
Doubleday 215p $17.95
ISBN 0385507925

My Neighborhood Blogger
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: John Mulvihill
Topic: Blogs
Ed Brill, 36, is a mild mannered neighborhood boy here in Highland Park. He is the man responsible for IBM software called Lotus Notes is sold and customers can call someone with their problems. He has a global client base. He posts his thoughts on his blog, and Readers around the world post their reactions. His blog is generally read by 60,000 customers, but not all respond the same day (Chicago Sun Times, 6 June 2005).