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Thoughts on the Boston College condom controversy.

You may have heard the news:

A bunch of Boston College students might be disciplined by administration at the Catholic university for passing out condoms on campus. The controversial move, made by school officials and supported by Catholicism, sparks the sort of debate that kind of makes my blood boil.

This is for reasons including but not limited to the following (in very random order).

1. IT IS FRUITLESS.

2. Fact: The Catholic Church is opposed to contraception. Awhile ago, I watched a set of Catholic college students (that is, students who attend Catholic colleges, not college students who are Catholic) give impassioned speeches about lack of access to contraception at Catholic colleges on C-Span. One student said what she expects is access to free contraception on her Catholic campus. To quote a woman who recently wrote an op-ed about Boston College’s current debate, I can’t believe “this is even a thing,” (although she and I can’t believe it for different reasons).

3. I saw a news clip earlier in which a woman all but said that Boston College’s policy — which I haven’t seen in print, but assume says students can’t widely distribute condoms on campus — implies students of Boston College can’t use condoms. But there is no such rule. This is not about a Catholic campus saying you can’t use a condom on a Catholic campus (a Catholic campus would be silly to try). It’s about a Catholic campus saying condoms can’t be distributed on a Catholic campus. Which makes sense, because it’s Catholic. (Refer to line one of point 2.)

4. I see a lot of “being mad at the Church” because it doesn’t validate definitions of love or sex that don’t align with what it says about them. But I promise: the Church isn’t mad at you for doing the same thing.

5. What bothers me most about the debate is the presumption that because “86, or 99, or whatever percent” of Catholic women use contraception, the Catholic Church’s teaching on it is bad, and the Church ought to change what it teaches (God forbid being part of the Church changes you). This is evidence of the Church misunderstood. Of the misinformed expectation that the size of a faction of the Church determines whether the Church alters what it teaches.

The Church is what it is. You love it or you don’t (but that you don’t isn’t going to change the Church).

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Thoughts on Pope Francis

Pope Francis I

Mid-conversation with a client, I heard my phone vibrate from inside the big bottom drawer in my desk. When the client walked out of my office, I opened the drawer to see what the buzz was about.

An email from the Pope Alarm: “We have a Pope!”

A couple Tweets, one from Anthony and one from Sarah: “hurry get on Twitter! We have a pope!” and “New pope has been elected!”

A text from Kim: “Who’s it gonna be? Hmmmm.”

By the time I got to the messages, he already had given his blessing from the balcony. And since I learned of the white smoke that signifies our new pope, these have been my thoughts, in no particular order:

  • I want to cry a little (in a good way).
  • He’s super cute!
  • He cooks for himself. Traded a palace for an apartment and a chauffeur for the bus. Pope Francis is my kinda priest.
  • I am moved by this: “I would like to give the blessing, but first – first I ask a favor of you: before the Bishop blesses his people, I ask you to pray to the Lord that he will bless me: the prayer of the people asking the blessing for their Bishop. Let us make, in silence, this prayer: your prayer over me.”
  • John Paul II = JP2. Benedict XVI = B16. Francis = …F1? #CatholicProblems
  • I hope my colleagues enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed it when yelled “I HAVE A NEW POPE!” into the hallway at work.
  • I was stoked for the white smoke, but am even more stoked for future of the Church, now led by a servant-leader who – from day one – has asked us to embrace a life of love and fraternity.
Habemus papam. God bless Pope Francis!
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[Interview] St. Padre Pio’s secretary, Fr. John Aurilia.

St. Padre Pio (Source)
Fr. John Aurilia (Source)

On August 31 in 2009, I followed a Capuchin friar from the chapel at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Tampa to his desk in his office next door. Fr. John Aurilia, then Most Holy Redeemer’s pastor, agreed to let me interview him for a story.

I dove right in with questions: What vows does a friar take? Why did you become a priest? What exactly do you own (not much!), and do you really live in poverty? Fr. John answered with humility and an Italian accent. He shared his story, eventually divulging what I never expected he would:

“In 1967, I was called to be Padre Pio’s secretary,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” I said, certain I had misheard him. “Whose secretary? I thought you said Padre Pio…”

As it turns out, he did.

Fr. John was ordained a priest in Campobasso, Italy by Bishop Alberto Carinci on Dec. 17, 1966. In 1967, for the month of August, he served as St. Padre Pio’s temporary secretary. Padre Pio was a friar known for receiving the stigmata (wounds like Christ’s); for bilocation (yes, being in two places at once); and for miraculously knowing stuff that nobody told him. Padre Pio died in 1968 and was canonized a saint by the Catholic Church in 2002. Now, Fr. John is pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Passaic, N.J. He and I have kept in touch since I interviewed him for the paper, and he was gracious to chat with me about Padre Pio:

AS: Did you know, or had you met Padre Pio before you served as his secretary? 

Fr. John: Yes, when we were in the Minor Seminary in Pietrelcina, about 40 miles from San Giovanni Rotondo, we used to visit Padre Pio very frequently to get his blessings. For about 10 years before I became his personal secretary, there was a constant contact with Padre Pio. Then, I was requested to substitute (for) his personal secretary for a month.

AS: What did you know about Padre Pio before you worked with him? 

Fr. John: That he was a saintly Friar, that he performed miracles, he had the stigmata, and the gift of knowing hearts and minds, and the gift of bilocation.

AS: Where did you and Padre Pio work and live? 

Fr. John: The office where I worked was on the third floor of the friary. I was sleeping on the second floor, where the others friars were sleeping (including Padre Pio). There were at that time about 15 friars living in the friary. The dining room was on the first floor. The friary was attached to the church, so that the friars could go to the church without going outside. In front of the church and the friary there is a big plaza to accommodate the crowds, and access public transportation to the city. The Hospital Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza is located about 500 feet from the church. The friary has a secluded garden in the back, with huge trees, vegetable garden, flowers, big enough to take a good walk through the many walkways. At my time, the whole place was always very busy as it is now…even more! The town of St. Giovanni Rotondo originally was not connected with our friary and church, as it is now. When Padre Pio was a young priest stationed in San Giovanni Rotondo (in the 1920s-40s) the friary was not accessible by public transportation. It was only accessible by walking or riding a mule or donkey. It was located on top of the hill.

AS: What did you discover about Padre Pio by being his personal secretary?

Fr. John: I did not discover anything new from what I knew before, except that his best gift was the gift of humility, because, although people were coming to him by the thousands, he was always humble, and never changed his daily schedule: many hours of prayer, many hours of confessions, and a long mass (more than an hour).

AS: When I think of St. Padre Pio, I think of the stigmata, and of a prayer of his that I frequently pray. What do you think of when you think of Padre Pio? 

Fr. John: I think of a regular human being, who happened to be very saintly, by the grace of God. He always kept his smile, in spite the many sufferings. I also think of Padre Pio as a humble, pleasant, and prayerful person.

AS: My favorite St. Padre Pio quote is the popular and powerful “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” While you worked with him, what – if anything – did Padre Pio say to you personally that enriched your life like “Pray, hope, and don’t worry” enriches mine?

Fr. John: He spoke to me without words. He spoke to me very eloquently and powerfully with his way of life (constant prayer and suffering). I do remember that he told me something really insightful about prayer: “John, prayer is the key which opens the doors of heaven.”

AS: Did you witness firsthand the stigmata, bilocation, or other miracles? 

Fr. John: Yes, I saw the stigmata many times, when he did not have on the half-gloves. I never experienced bilocation and other miracles, but I do know they are true because the people who were affected by (it) told me first hand. I once experienced something unusual. I did not know how to answer to a lady who was asking (in a letter to Padre Pio) if (her) son (should) be a doctor or a priest. So, I went to Padre Pio (to ask) how to answer. Padre Pio never saw the letter, which I had in my hands, and before I started asking, he promptly said: “Tell her the son is going to be a good doctor.” I was shocked!

AS: In what way is your spirituality or priesthood influenced by St. Pio? 

Fr. John: After living with him, I understood that my priesthood is not mine, it belongs to Jesus. I am only an unworthy instrument. I also believe that prayer and humility are the greatest strengths I find in my religious life.

AS: Do you frequently ask St. Pio to intercede for intentions in prayer? 

Fr. John: Yes. I ask him every day, sometimes more than once a day.

AS: Why would you recommend we ask St. Pio to intercede for us?

Fr. John: Because I know him, I spoke to him, I touched him, I love him.

AS: How did St. Pio’s death and canonization impact you?

Fr. John: The death and canonization impacted me in a way that my life was never the same ever since: a new look at religious life, more positive about goals to achieve and virtues to pursue.

AS: What, ultimately, did you learn about God and/or life by working with Padre Pio?

Fr. John: I learned that God is not a judge, but a loving Father and Mother, and life is worth living, only if there is plenty of hope, faith, and love.

– – – –

Click here to read the story I wrote about Fr. John for the Times.

Click here to visit Fr. John’s church website.

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My five favorite free Catholic apps.

Thanks for the wallpaper, Ryan!

I lifted the lid off the top of the iPhone box the December day the FedEx guy delivered it.

THIS IS NUTS, I thought, that I, Arleen Spenceley, faithful flip-phone owner, master of fasting from modern technology, consistent resister of smartphones…

owns one.

I felt weird. Cautious, even. Caught between one conviction (that smartphones make us stupid) and another (that not owning one could compromise my career).

But I plugged it in. Slid to unlock.

And as fast as I opened the box, I forgot life before my phone.

It’s efficient, and magic, and there are all kinds of fabulous apps. In the months since I got the phone, I have browsed for good ones, and stumbled upon five free ones worth sharing with readers (especially if you’re Catholic!). They are these, in no particular order:

Laudate



Laudate: BEST. APP. EVER (despite that I just said these are in no particular order). Daily readings (in print and via podcast), the rosary (including the beads), the entire Bible, the entire Catechism, every Catholic prayer you can think of, a bunch of Catholic prayers you haven’t heard of, and Vatican documents. #boom. 



Mea Culpa

Mea Culpa Pro: Because being able to say “bless me Father, for I have sinned. My last confession was January 26, 2013” is awesome, so is this app. Use it to track your last confession (and never forget how long it’s been), and to examine your conscious in depth, commandment by commandment, for venial and mortal sins.



the Steubenville App: This is like a Steubenville conference in your phone. Browse video, audio, and blogs; see a schedule of upcoming conferences (and watch vids of talks from old ones).



40 Day Spiritual Workout for Catholic Teens: I’m not a teen, but I’m surrounded by ’em six days a week. This app, written by professor, author, musician Bob Rice, is fuel for forty days. Each “workout” includes a short Scripture reading, a reflection, and a prayer. Set a reminder for the part of your day when you most could use a couple extra minutes of prayer.

The Pope App: This app’s close to due for an update (and my hunch is it’ll tell me first when we have a new pope). Watch the pope speak live, read his homilies, and watch live webcams of Saint Peter’s Square, Blessed Pope John Paul II’s tomb, and St. Peter’s Basilica.

 What are your favorite apps?
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Thoughts on Pope Benedict’s resignation.

“No way.”

This morning, in my dark bedroom, I felt for my glasses on my nightstand. Found them. With corrected vision, I looked again at my phone, at a post on Google+ shared by somebody in my circles:

“Pope to resign.”

I thought it was a hoax. By now you know it isn’t.

I have had a day to process the news, to begin to adjust to the reality that Rome will probably have a new Bishop by Easter.

Today, these have been my thoughts, in no particular order:

  • I want to cry a little.
  • What an example of humility and responsibility.
  • This excerpt from a 2007 Catholic News Agency article is a fabulous snippet of the big picture of B16’s wisdom:

    In contrast to this beauty and purity, the Holy Father turned to the young people of today who are, he said, “growing up in an atmosphere pervaded with messages that propose false models of happiness. These boys and girls risk losing hope because they often seem to be orphaned of that real love which fills life with meaning and joy,” Pope Benedict warned.
    Adults advancing false models of happiness, he said, were targeting children at ever-younger ages.
    “Adolescents, youths and even children are easy victims of the corruption of love, deceived by unscrupulous adults who, lying to themselves and to them, draw them into the dead-end streets of consumerism,” he continued.
    Pope Benedict lamented that in a consumerist society even human bodies become objects, saying that this objectification is occurring earlier and earlier.
    “How sad it is when young people lose the marvel, the enchantment, of the most beautiful feelings, the value of respect for one’s body,” he said.


  • I am stunned.
  • Toupster, Toupster! (…who just three days ago became a monsignor.)
  • I really hope I’m at home the day the chimney smoke turns white, or anywhere in front of a TV when it happens. How exciting it was to watch the white smoke rise live when the cardinals elected Cardinal Ratzinger to Pope Benedict XVI. How neat it would be to see it again when white smoke rises for St. Peter’s next successor.