Bullying a dead man’s body NYC Style
There is another spiritual case of attempted body snatching of a holy figure, and angelic holiness won out. The story is recounted in the Epistle of Jude, Chapter 1, verse 9, where the Archangel Michael intervened when Satan attempted to grab Moses’ body after death. Scripture states:
“But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses,
he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.'”
It would seem that the answer is prayer, and not just prayer but a determined asking for the intercession of Archangel Michael. Many parishes have added the prayer at the end of Mass because of the difficulties we are experiencing in the Church, from sexual abuse to hierarchical confusion. It seems neither irrelevant nor irreverent to ask for St. Michael the Archangel’s protection of the Venerable Archbishop Sheen’s Body, and for a good outcome in God’s Holy Will. If you have a suitable prayer or would like to write one, please add as a comment. In the meantime, is there anything wrong with a simple: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend the body of the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen against the wickedness and snares of the devil.”
Ref: https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/ny-archdiocese-again-appeals-sheen-case
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The Archdiocese of New York is spending hundred of thousands of dollars thus far to continue their court battle, a losing battle, to keep the remains of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen at St. Patrick’s Cathedral while schools and parishes are being closed in large part due to financial considerations. This is an example why the laity should insist on transparency and accountability of those who head dioceses and archdioceses to where their money is being spent. It is a travesty that so much money is being spent on a losing court battle at the direction of Timothy Cardinal Dolan, money that could be spent on programs and items to help the poor as well as keeping parishes and schools open.
I am not sure of the ramifications of beautification with regard to location of the deceased remains, and the hold up might be due to an unresolved civil matter, but Archbishop Sheen would be horrified, and probably is horrified, that so much money is being spent on battling over his remains in court, which could otherwise be spent on the mission of the Catholic Church. I have understood the Mission of the Catholic Church it to be: Service to the Poor, Education, and Preaching of the Gospel. (If anyone has a clearer wording or definition, I would really like to hear it).
I think Archbishop Sheen embraced the Mission of the Catholic Church and carried it out with zeal in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. He had a heart for the poor and stood up to anyone trying to compromise that mission, namely his Archbishop of NY, Francis Cardinal Spellman. First, Spellman demanded money from the Sheen directed-Society of the Propagation of the Faith to distribute food in war-torn European countries, and Sheen refused. Spellman accused Sheen of defying authority, but Pope Pius XII sided with Sheen. Then Spellman wanted millions of dollars for a supply of powdered milk that he had turned over to the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, which had been donated to the Archdiocese of NY from the Federal Government. Sheen refused as he wanted to safeguard the funds which were donated by the public, and in which he personally donated and had raised over the airwaves. Pope Pius XII again sided with Sheen in this matter. Spellman wanted to get even with Sheen; besides being pressured to quit TV, Sheen was unwelcome in the churches of New York City. Spellman cancelled his annual Good Friday sermons in St. Patrick’s Cathedral and clergy were discouraged from befriending him. Additionally, he was removed from leadership for the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, a position he had held for 16 years, and he had raised hundreds of millions of dollars and had personally donated ten million of his own earnings. Sheen was sent also sent to be the bishop of Rochester, NY. Bishop Sheen started the Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation while he was here and championed causes for the poor and for civil rights.
So it appears there is history of financial issues with regard to battles among the Archdiocese of NY. I doubt Timothy Cardinal Spellman motivation for keeping Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s body in New York City is one out of affection and attachment, but is probably more to do with politics and advancing the Archdiocese of NY with regard to any tourism or money-making that could be had at the proclamation of sainthood for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
Sheen was a good steward of what was entrusted to him, starting with souls.
In the matter of money and Cdl. Dolan, remember the Archdiocese is a sponsor of the (obviously impoverished) NY Yankees! http://www.cleansingfire.org/2018/05/what-is-your-opinion/
Yes, Bishop Sheen was a good steward of what was entrusted to him, starting with souls.
(I watched Bishop Sheen on TV on Sundays with my siblings when we were growing up. As children, we found him entertaining as well as informative and edifying. He had a gift of reaching a diverse audience of all ages and denominations, even Jews, wherever he went.
Cardinal Dolan appears to have secular inclinations and act like a CEO of a secular organization or corporation. I noted my typo above -I should have written Timothy Cardinal Dolan (not Spellman) -“motivation for keeping Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s body in New York City…” My typo might have been linked to thinking both Spellman and Dolan’s motivation for their actions being the gain of money at their own disposal.
Cardinal Dolan will not take a stand against abortion and will not deny Holy Communion to politicians who publicly endorse abortion. He considers Governor Andrew Cuomo a Catholic in good standing because he donates generously to the Church. The fact that he is divorced and living with his girlfriend and especially that he has championed abortion rights in the State of New York has no bearing on his standing with the Catholic Church. Cardinal Dolan refuses to ex-communicate Governor Andrew Cuomo for signing the new abortion bill into law as a means of fraternal correction and a means to save his soul, even when requested by various clergy and laypersons, including Rev. Franklin Graham, Rev. Billy Graham’s son, who made his appeal very public and known.
I’ve been asked what I mean by NYC style. Well, to be brief, it is the kind of style in which one party has significantly more money, power and/or connections than the other and keeps pushing, out-spending and out-pressuring (aka “bullying”) the other until the aggressor finally wins a round, either because the other litigant is impoverished, or out-witted, or dead (natural causes, naturally). How the NYC diocese compares in these factors to Abp. Sheen’s relatives or to the Diocese of Peoria may be worth understanding. In that context, upping the ante with very expensive attorneys is just part of the issue. NYS and NYC also operate on the bullying principal, unless one thinks that persistently introducing legislation to murder newborns, until that legislation passes, is not bullying.
Hope everyone noticed the Ticker Post that Peoria finally won, in spite of the machinations of the Cardinal Abp of NY.
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/ny-archdiocese-loses-final-appeal-in-sheen-case?utm_source=CM.com+Email+Subscribers&utm_campaign=acb96f4f2d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_06_29_05_39_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6225e731a9-acb96f4f2d-62421289