The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego will ordain four new priests next week, though top honors go to the Archdiocese of Newark, which is scheduled to ordain 17 priests Saturday.
The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., has the next largest class, with 12 ordinands, according to a survey by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Archdiocese of Denver has 11.
The San Diego diocese's ordination service will be held at 4 p.m. June 2 at Good Shepherd Church in Mira Mesa. Last year, five priests were ordained in San Diego, the largest number since 1992. The 2006 class are: Craig Haider, a Southern California native; Steven Larion, a San Dieguito High School graduate; Pedro Rivera, who was born in Guatemala and grew up in the U.S., and Ruben Valenzuela, who grew up in El Centro.
Nationally, the average age of the 2006 class is 37; 22 percent are under 30, and 4 percent are over 60 (San Diego's soon-to-be priests are in their 30s, 40s and 60s). Nearly one-third of the men were born outside of the United States.
The total number of priests in the United States has been declining for decades, from 58,632 in 1965 to 42,839 in 2005, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.
Associated Press and staff reports
Filmed 'Code' moderates stance
While it will still offend some Christians, it turns out that the movie version of “The Da Vinci Code” subtly softens some of the religiously disputed aspects of Dan Brown's novel.
The film, which opened Friday and finished in first place at the box office last weekend, still centers on a Jesus-Mary Magdalene marriage that's nowhere to be found in the New Testament. But it also includes some skepticism toward characters' claims that cut against traditional Christianity.
Opposition to the book and the film has generated a cottage industry of critics – from books to sermons that counter the “Code.” Yet despite the protests, the film itself has taken a different tack from the novel, omitting, for example, the book's controversial thesis: “Almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false.” The script instead turns that concept into a question: “What if the world discovers the greatest story ever told is a lie?”
While Catholic League president William Donohue called the movie inane and boring, he also admitted that the movie portrayed religion “with greater sensitivity to Christians than was depicted in the book.” He added: “Had the movie been a success, the effect would have been troubling. But because it fails to persuade, this is one movie practicing Christians have nothing to worry about.”
Associated Press
Conservative causes on the docket
A day-long conference designed to inform the public about conservative Christian causes – from the anti-abortion campaign to the family values debate – will be held Saturday at First Assembly of God Church in San Diego.
Co-sponsored by America Asleep Know More, a Missouri-based conservative Christian group, and organized by local activist James Hartline, the conference is titled “Shake the Nation.”
Scheduled speakers range from from Bob McClellan, an El Cajon councilman who made headlines for pushing to keep Christ in Christmas, to Charles LiMandri, a Rancho Santa Fe attorney well known for his efforts to keep the cross on Mount Soledad. Also on tap are Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute in Sacramento, and Cindy Moles, state director for Concerned Women for America. And there will be a voter registration drive.
The conference will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the church, 8404 Phyllis Place. It is free, though donations will be accepted.
Hartline said the event is not meant to be divisive, though it will have a definite point of view. “I think it's tragic that just because you have a difference of opinion that they want to mark you as a hateful person,” he said.
Union-Tribune
Religious divide on gay marriage
WASHINGTON – Religious leaders are lining up in opposing coalitions over whether to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage.
A group of religious leaders calling itself Clergy for Fairness is campaigning against any such amendment. Among its members are leaders of Reform Judaism, the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ and other denominations.
Another group, the Religious Coalition for Marriage, is lobbying for an amendment that would define marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. Endorsers of that effort include Roman Catholic cardinals, along with leaders of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Southern Baptist Convention and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations.
The U.S. Senate is scheduled to take up the issue in June.
Associated Press
Chaplain set on the road to sainthood
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – A Navy chaplain who was killed in 1967 during the Vietnam War has been officially declared a “Servant of God,” which sets him on a path to possible sainthood.
The Rev. Vincent Capodanno, who has a chapel named after him at Camp Pendleton, received the designation during a Mass on Saturday at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
Father Vincent was a Maryknoll missionary who left the safety of a parish in Taiwan in 1966 to serve as a chaplain in Vietnam. Sixteen months after he arrived in the country, he was killed while caring for a wounded Marine in a raging battle.
Religion News Service
Karaoke comes to church
LONDON – Karaoke bars have become trendy around the world, with countless wannabe singers mangling songs like Frank Sinatra's “My Way” while following along with lyrics displayed on a big screen.
So why not karaoke churches?
With attendance plummeting and youthful organists hard to find, churches across Britain are turning to a new karaokelike machine called Hymnal Plus as a means of jazzing up stale services. The new Hymnal Plus, or HT-300, from Hymn Technology Ltd. of London, costs $3,500 and can play more than 2,750 traditional hymns and modern worship songs in a variety of styles and keys.
“This is not designed to replace real organists, but to help churches in those areas where there just aren't enough organists,” said Alan Kempster, a director at Hymn Technology. “These machines will also help churches move with the times as they allow churches to select accompaniments to a lot of the new tunes being written for church services,” he said.
Cox News Service
