Rest In Peace: Monsignor Patrick J. Trainor

This holy man was my Pastor and I was his alter boy.

JMJ Joe

Monsignor Patrick J. Trainor
October 22, 1917 - February 07, 2009

TRAINOR, Monsignor Patrick, age 91, Pastor Emeritus of St. John Vianney Parish, St. Pete Beach, went home to the Lord Saturday, February 7, 2009, at his residence attended by those who loved and cared for him. Born in the Bronx, New York at an early age following his father's death, the family returned to Ireland. Monsignor Trainor was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of St. Augustine, June 18, 1944 at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Cavan Co., Ireland. He came to Florida in 1945 and served parishes in Jacksonville, Gainesville and Coral Gables, where he also taught school for five years, before his arrival December 1, 1953 at St. John Vianney Parish, St. Pete Beach, to serve as pastor. He held that office until his retirement in 1989. At the request of Bishop Joseph Hurley, Pope John XXIII granted his being named a Monsignor and in 1988 at the request of Bishop W. Thomas Larkin he was elevated to Monsignor Protonotary Apostolic (P.A.) by Pope John Paul II. Monsignor Trainor's love, support and enthusiasm for Catholic education is evidenced in the growth and excellence of St. John Vianney Catholic School and those elementary schools in Pinellas County he watched being built. He assisted Archbishop Hurley in building St. Petersburg Catholic High School in 1957, then known as Bishop Barry High School. In 1998 the Monsignor Patrick Trainor Media Center at St. Petersburg Catholic High School was dedicated to him for his commitment and many contributions. He loyally served the diocese in other positions: Chairman of the Board of Catholic Charities, Judge of the Tribunal, Consultor and Episcopal Vicar for Pinellas Deaneries. Surviving him are his sister, Sister Mary Winifrede Trainor, age 93, sister-in-law Mrs. Rita Trainor, his cousin, Monsignor Edward Mulligan and two nieces, Rosaland O'Brien and Nuala Diffley, 2 nephews, Edward and Kevin Trainor , 6 great nephews and 4 great nieces. The Reception of Monsignor Trainor's body and visitation will be Thursday, February 12, 2009 from 3:30PM to 7:15PM at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 445 82nd Ave, St. Pete Beach with evening prayer service at 7:30PM. Funeral Mass will be Friday, February 13th at 11:00AM at the church. Interment to follow at Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to St. John Vianney Catholic School. Brett Funeral Home & Cremation Services. Link (here)

Rest In Peace: Piotr Stanczak, Polish Catholic Martyr Was Beheaded By Taliban

Pakistani Taliban Release Tape Of Murder Of Pole

Before he was killed, Stanczak was seen on the tape appealing to the Polish government not to send troops to Afghanistan. Pakistani Taliban militants released a video tape on Sunday of them beheading a Polish geologist whom they said killed him because Pakistan's government refused to release Taliban prisoners.

Watch beheading (here)

The Islamist militants said on Saturday they had executed the Polish engineer, Piotr Stanczak, who they kidnapped in September, because the government had refused to free 60 captured militants before Friday's deadline.

A tape was delivered to the office of a Reuters reporter in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan showing two masked men cutting off Stanczak's head.

Before he was killed, Stanczak was seen on the tape appealing to the Polish government not to send troops to Afghanistan.

He also urged Poland to severe ties with Pakistan, which he said had made no effort to secure his release, said a Reuters reporter who saw the tape.

Assaults on foreign aid workers, company employees and diplomats have increased in Pakistan over the past year, especially in areas near the border with Afghanistan, where government forces are battling the Taliban and al Qaeda.

A Taliban spokesman, identified only as Mohammed, said earlier the militants would only give up Stanczak's body if the government freed captured militants and stopped attacking them.

"We will not hand over the dead body if the government does not accept our demands," the Taliban spokesman said by telephone.

"Our demands are the same: the release of our 60 men and an end to military operations."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Saturday said his government had received unofficial confirmation the 42-year-old hostage was dead.

Stanczak was kidnapped on Sept. 28 while visiting one of his company's sites near Attock city, about 65 km (40 miles) west of the capital, Islamabad.

Gunmen shot dead his Pakistani driver, bodyguard and translator before abducting him.

An American heading the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in southwestern province of Baluchistan, was taken last week and his driver was shot dead.

Two Chinese telecommunication engineers, two Afghan diplomats and an Iranian diplomat were kidnapped in northwest Pakistan, though one of the Chinese later escaped.

A militants on the tape released on Sunday said other foreign hostages including the Chinese engineer would also be killed if the government did not meet Taliban demands.

Link (here)

"Rest In Peace" Tony Snow

Tony Snow Dead at 53, A Tribute to a Catholic Journalist
7/12/2008
Catholic Online (http://www.catholic.org/)
"It’s trendy to reject religious reflection as a grave offense against decency. That’s not only cowardly. That’s false. Faith and reason are knitted together in the human soul. So don’t leave home without either one."
CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) –

Tony Snow, whose Catholic faith, superb communication skills, and work ethic propelled him to prominence in the world of media, journalism and communications, has died after his courageous battle with colon cancer. Honored by the Catholic University of America in May of 2007,

Tony Snow gave the crowd which gathered for the 118th Annual Commencement Address: "Reason, Faith, and Vocation" much to ponder. The title summed up his efforts to integrate his faith, his commitment to marriage and family, his political and policy convictions and a career of communications. It was also characteristically blunt and practical while rising at times to the level of inspired insight.

That was Tony Snow’s gift of communications. He used it throughout a career which was accompanied by earning the respect of his peers, even if they disagreed with his positions. Robert Anthony “Tony” Snow was born on June 1, 1955. He earned a bachelors degree in philosophy and taught in Kenya before deciding on a career as a journalist. He married his beloved wife, Jill Ellen Walker in 1987 and they have three children, Robbie, Kendell and Christie. Probably known most nationally for the last assignment of a memorable journalistic career, his brief stint as White House Press Secretary, Tony Snow has been a fixture in “conservative” politics and policy circles for many years. He was a very popular syndicated columnist, an editor, one of the most popular personalities on the Fox television network, where he anchored “Fox News Sunday” and a radio host.

His career spanned thirty years. The President of the United States, George Bush, released statement on Snow’s death in which he said: "Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend, Tony Snow. The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character."

As tributes to this fine man pour in from all over the world, Catholic Online offers our prayers to his family and our deepest condolences on their loss. Tony Snow’s heroism in fighting cancer was another sign of the character which informed his stellar career as well as his commitment to family. In his address to the graduates of Catholic University he spoke these words: “Heed the counsel of your elders, including your parents. I guarantee you, they have made some howling mistakes if, like me, they were in college in the ’70s and ’80s. They probably haven’t owned up to them, but they might now, because they want to protect you. You see, they know that you are leaving the nest. And now that you’re leaving the nest, predators soon will begin to circle. "Some are going to try to take your money, but the really clever ones are going to tempt you to throw your life away. They’ll appeal to your pride and vanity – or worse, to your moral ambition. After all, there’s nothing more subversive than the offer to become a saint. So think things through. "Be patient. If somebody tries to give you a hard sell, you know they’re peddling snake oil; don’t buy it. If something’s not worth pondering, it is certainly not worth doing. And if your gut tells you something’s fishy, trust your gut. "You know, hucksters perform an unintended service. Like everybody here, I’m sure you’ve all been conned. I am such a sucker that I get conned all the time. What happens is they make you look in the mirror and assess honestly the person on the other side. "Now all of us love to delude ourselves, making excuses. But you know, the more we resist being honest and doing an honest evaluation, the sillier we behave. If you don’t believe it, think of any swinger you have ever seen in your life. Socrates was right: Know thyself. But see, there’s more. Once you’ve gotten past the mirror phase, then things begin to get really interesting. You begin to confront the truly overwhelming question: Why am I here? And that begins to open up the whole universe, because it impels you to think like the child staring out at the starry night: “Who put the lights in the sky? Who put me here? Why?” And pretty soon you are thinking about God.

Don’t shrink from pondering God’s role in the universe or Christ’s. You see, it’s trendy to reject religious reflection as a grave offense against decency. That’s not only cowardly. That’s false. Faith and reason are knitted together in the human soul. So don’t leave home without either one. ...

Think not only of what it means to love but what it means to be loved. I have a lot of experience with that. Since the news that I have cancer again, I have heard from thousands and thousands of people and I have been the subject of untold prayers. I’m telling you right now: You’re young [and you feel] bullet-proof and invincible. [But] never underestimate the power of other people’s love and prayer. They have incredible power. It’s as if I’ve been carried on the shoulders of an entire army. And they had made me weightless. The soldiers in the army just wanted to do a nice thing for somebody. As I mentioned, a lot of people — everybody out here — wants to do that same thing.” The manner and the message showed the mettle of the man. In that address he also spoke of his sincere faith:

“When it comes to faith, I’ve taken my own journey. You will have to take your own. But here’s what I know. Faith is as natural as the air we breathe. Religion is not an opiate, just the opposite. It is the introduction to the ultimate extreme sport. There is nothing that you can imagine that God cannot trump. As Paul said “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

And once you realize that there is something greater than you out there, and then you have to decide, “Do I acknowledge it and do I act upon it?” You have to at some point surrender yourself. And there is nothing worthwhile in your life that will not at some point require an act of submission.” We join our prayers to those of his family, friends and colleagues the world over: “Eternal Rest grant unto him Oh Lord, and may his soul and the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace, Amen”

Link (here)

Tony Snow joins CNN (here)

Michelle Malkin on the death of Tony Snow (here)