Time Wheelmen (Bicycle Club) Christmas Tree - 818 N Broad Street Philadelphia - Inquirer 2 Jan 1898

.

Eckley Brinton Coxe, Jr. – Tribute to His Memory by John Cadwalader – Philadelphia Evening Bulletin – 1916

Eckley B. Coxe Jr., 1872-1916
University of Pennsylvania Painting Collection
Artist - Adolphe E. Borie 1877-1934
(Public Domain - United States)

Proceedings of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, Volume 28 (page 31)

“Eckley Brinton Coxe, Jr.

 “Member 1914.

“Born May 31, 1872                                       September 20, 1916

“ Eckley Brinton Coxe, Jr. of 1604 Locust Street, died September 20 1916, at his summer home at Drifton, near Hazleton, Penna., after an illness of more than a year. He was a son of the late Charles Brinton Coxe and Elizabeth Sinkler Coxe.

“He entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1891 in Biology and received a certificate of proficiency in June, 1893. He was, therefore, a member of the Class of 1893 and of the Delta Phi Fraternity as his father and four uncles had been before him. He was President of the University Museum, a member of The Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, and of the International Historical Society, also of the University, Rittenhouse, Racquet, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Country, and Huntingdon Valley Clubs.

“The tribute to his memory published in the Evening Bulletin and written by Hon. John Cadwalader gives such an interesting account of his family that it is here quoted:

“ ‘Eckley B Coxe, Jr. sustained the name and usefulness of one of the most distinguished families that this country has produced. Dr.Daniel Coxe, of London from whom he was directly descended, was in 1678 the proprietor of West New Jersey and of Carolina, which included all the territory between N. Latitude 31st to 36th parallels, and prepared the first general plan for a union of the colonies.

“ ‘Tench Coxe, the great grandfather at the age of thirty-three was a member of the Continental Congress, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury to Alexander Hamilton in 1789, filled many important posts until his death in 1824, and it was said of him that he “was never forgetful of the duty of exerting his peculiar talents for the good of his country.” The grandfather, Charles S. Coxe, was a judge of the district court, noted for its eminent judges, and rendered, among others, a most important decision relating to the privileges of consular as distinguished from diplomatic officials recognized generally by writers on international law. 

“ ‘His father Major Charles Brinton Coxe, was the youngest of the five sons of Judge Coxe, all of whom were men of unusual force of character and distinction.  The eldest Brinton Coxe, was one of the most learned lawyers of his day, as shown in his work on Bracton and his unfinished analysis of the Constitution of the United States.

“ ‘Eckley B. Coxe, after whom his nephew was named, was the most eminent mining engineer this country has produced, and held a very important position in the State, politically and as head of the firm of Coxe Brothers & Co., who operated the great anthracite coal fields owned by the Coxe family.

“ ‘Charles B. Coxe. the father was a scholar of a high order, having taken the highest rank in the University of Pennsylvania, in the class of 1862, that included many of our most successful citizens, among them two Provosts of the University.

“ ‘His services in the army, having been major of the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, the only lancer regiment, were most conspicuous for bravery and unselfish devotion.  He was equally popular with his fellow officers and men. Several of those in his company were long in the service of Coxe Brothers & Co., of which Charles Coxe was a member.

“ ‘Eckley B Coxe, Jr. though not of vigorous frame, was full of determined energy and untiring in any work he undertook.  Unlike many young men of independent means, he had but one object in life, which was to be useful, following the example of his great-grandfather.  His father having died in Egypt, the son had always felt a deep interest in that land of the earliest civilization.  Growing out of this interest, he became connected with the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, and secured for it the result of the exploring expeditions which he entirely supported under concessions granted by the Egyptian government.  Few persons understand to what extent this great department of the University has been dependent upon the liberality and generosity of a very few persons.

“ ‘Mr. Coxe became president of the Board of the Museum and had practically met the large annual outlay necessary to maintaining its work. This has been in addition to sustaining the expeditions and meeting the cost of the valuable publications constantly used.  Mr. Coxe did not limit his interest to these educational fields, but every charitable movement appealed to him.

“ ‘The Children's Hospital, the College of Physicians, the Orthopaedic Hospital, many fields of work in aid of the miners and their families in the anthracite coal region, and the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania are only some of those that could be mentioned to which he has contributed on a very large scale.

“ ’There was a quiet, dignified reserve, with a gentleness of character, in Eckley Coxe rarely met with. Firm and decided wherever he had a positive view, it was always a pleasure to him to meet the wishes of those who appealed to him.  

“ ‘His generosity was not measured; but was indulged for the benefit of others, with little thought of himself. The concentration of wealth in the hands of such a man is productive of more good to the community than any possible distribution, among many could produce. His life was spent for the benefit of others and he maintained a reputation without a blemish. To those who learned to appreciate his generous thought and to his immediate family his loss is irreparable.

“ ‘He showed the value of inherited worth, and did not fail to sustain in every way what might have been expected of him.’ “

University Museum - University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia

1604 Locust Street - Philadelphia (Google Maps)
Former Residence of Eckley B. Coxe Jr. 

.

They – Governor Tom Corbett – Mayor Michael Nutter – Archbishop Charles Chaput - Went to the Vatican and all they got was a Lousy Tee Shirt

Governor Who?

@GovernorCorbett I feel bad for the Pope...he cannot escape immoral politicians like Tom Corbett.
— Aaron (@posas13) March 26, 2014

Going in much pomp and expectations to capture Pope Francis to honor Pope Benedict’s scheduled appointment to a $100 million Philly Catholic Family Fest in 2015, the delegation got 5-6 minutes in the rain with other pilgrims.

Francis is busy or does he not want to waste his valuable private time with corrupt Pennsylvania politicians?

We shall see how much time American Barry Obama gets later this week.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-pa-delegation-pope-visit-canceled-0326-20140326,0,7289174.story#ixzz2x5BfLfQ

  

The local delegation had expected an extended private meeting Wednesday at which they would have urged Francis to visit the city when the Philadelphia Archdiocese hosts the Eighth World Meeting of Families, a Vatican-sponsored gathering expected to draw hundreds of thousands to the city in 2015.

But Meg Kane, communications coordinator for the much-ballyhooed trip to Rome, sent word out at about 11:30 p.m. Rome time that the delegation would not be meeting with Francis at his residence, as had been long planned.

(Thanks Dave)

.

Jack McKinney – Philly Sports And Opera Writer – 1929/2002 // Keltic Cowboys – Kiss My Irish Ass

Some interesting links and reading on legendary Philly Communicator / Writer Jack McKinney. And of course an Irish Drinking Song too.

http://www.phillytalkradioonline.com/archive/jack-mckinney.html

http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2013/02/13/the-banter-gold-standard-dexter-remembers-jack-mckinney/

http://mauryzlevy.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/jack-mckinney-and-the-revolting-irish/

KISS MY IRISH ASS LYRICS

by Frank Mackey and The Keltic Cowboys

Oh the churchbells are ringin' in the schoolyard, 
And we all went out those days
The bully said "Mick would you fancy a rumble?"
I said "Yes, it's time to play!"

Oh the nuns and the priests they grabbed their Rosaries
As they pulled our bodies apart
The bully said "Mick you lost the fight, but you've gained my respect! 
You fight with so much heart!"

We're as stubborn as mules
With our blood on fire
When we ain't at Sunday mass
We'll look any man straight in his eyes and say
Kiss my Irish ass! 
You better kiss my Irish ass! 

Oh the husbands and wives, they had a neighborhood pack
They called the Mackeys white trash behind our backs (White Trash! )
I was way too young to understand that
But if I did, I'd given it right back

Oh me dad, he'd be drunk on the lawn, 
Yelling and screaming like he do
But sometimes my old man felt what he was feeling, 
Sometimes Mr. Mackey spoke the truth

We're as stubborn as mules
With our blood on fire
When we ain't at Sunday mass
We'll look any man straight in his eyes and say
Kiss my Irish ass! 
You better kiss my Irish ass! 

Oh me grandpa passed through Ellis Island, 
From the greatest of the Motherlands
For he worked, provided for his family
He was a dedicated welding man
And he knew right from wrong like day and night, 
He could whip any fool in a bareknuckle fight
He talked of country like he preached of God, 
One hell of an Irishman! 

We're as stubborn as mules
With our blood on fire
When we ain't at Sunday mass
We'll look any man straight in his eyes and say
Kiss my Irish ass! 
You better kiss my Irish ass! 

Oooohh, I'm of a distant relation to John Redman, 
He was one of the greatest Irish Rebels of his day
One bastard to another, on down the line
And this is what my son will say:

We're as stubborn as mules
With our blood on fire
When we ain't at Sunday mass
We'll look any man straight in his eyes and say
Kiss my Irish ass! 
We're as stubborn as mules
With our blood on fire
When we ain't at Sunday mass
We'll look any man straight in his eyes and say
Kiss my Irish ass! 
You better kiss my Irish ass!

.

Recipe – Vegan Philly-Style Scrapple

Vegan Philly-Style Scrapple

I saw a photo of some Vegan Scrapple the other day and thought that it would not meet the mark with me.

But quite frankly I can longer eat a lot of meat or meat by-products because of health reasons.  Organ meat from inside the animal is supposed to be high in cholesterol.

So rather than be disappointed by yet another too expensive “Vegetarian” meat substitute that tastes like Play-Doh (figuratively speaking), I decided to make my own Vegan Philly-Style Scrapple.

And the Philly kind has always been the Pennsylvania Dutch version. The Pennsylvania “Dutch” were of course “Deutsche” (a corruption of the pronunciation over the years) who came over at William Penn’s invitation almost as soon as he got here in the early 1680s.

A lot of the present Scrapple products do not measure up in my memory to taste like they did when I was a kid. Of course we are talking decades but the real flavor I miss most is the hot pepper flavor of fresh ground black pepper which the modern machine made stuff seems to lack, perhaps lost in the shelf life marketing thing.

Scrapple in its inception was a product to use all the extra body parts of the pig that might not be used otherwise directly. The primary part of scrapple has been basically ground up pig’s liver and mixed into a basic corn meal mush or polenta molded food product. This chilled and sliced and fried on a hot iron skillet without a lot of fat to facilitate cooking. A lot of that fat in scrapple was already in the product by grinding up flesh and pig fat along with the liver.  As such, a slice of scrapple on a preheated iron skillet has never needed additional fat in the frying pan when cooking at a low heat.  The product should be self-lubricated in the frying pan.

I use some Canola oil in the recipe below to lubricate the molded polenta product in the frying pan and cooked on a low flame once a higher pre-heated temperature has been achieved.

I for the sake of looking for a similar texture to scrapple decided on mixing the corn meal with Irish oats. I do not use the American style oats of any kind. I wanted an original European style oats for taste and texture, far superior to any American big corp. processed oats.

I do not know how to describe the kind of Irish oats (steel cut, quick, whole, old-fashioned etc.­) I use in comparison to American style recipes. So for the sake of this recipe I mention a specific product and its cooking time, and I am certain you may have your own favorite pure food oats product. The product is Flahavan’s Irish Oats and this particular box is available in American stores. They cook in three minutes.

The other product I use is Indian Head Stone Ground Corn Meal for the polenta part of the recipe.

The recipe has two pots on the stove at one time. Per careful and take your time. Start with the Corn Mean cooking as it takes about 20 minutes and the Oatmeal cooking only takes three minutes.

The two grain mixtures will be blended together when the corn meal is done. Canola oil goes into corn meal cooking with the boiling water mentioned below. Natural soy sauce goes into oatmeal just before blending with cornmeal. The soy sauce is both a seasoning element and for a natural traditional scrapple color. All dry seasoning and dry herbs go in last.

Start with assembly of seasonings and dry herbs.

1 tsp. Marjoram

1 tsp. Thyme

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. ground Sage

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

2 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

Dash of ground Allspice

Set herb mixture aside.

Start cooking the corn meal

1 cup cold water

1 cup Corn Meal

Mix in pot.

Add 2 cups boiling water from tea kettle

Add 1-1/2 tbs. Canola Oil

Cook, stirring frequently, according to package instructions. Approximately 20 minutes.

Meanwhile combine 3/4 cup Irish Oats with 1-1/2 cups cold water. Cook according to package instructions. Mixture has less water than recommended but you want an oatmeal mixture thick with less water in terms of combining with cooked corn meal and molding. Approximately 3 minutes. Set aside. Cover to retain heat.

Finish corn meal cooking.

Add 2 tbs. Soy Sauce and mix into oatmeal mixture.

Combine cooked Oatmeal and Polenta mixture in pot.

Add seasonings and herbs. Mix. Pour into greased loaf pan. Let sit until completely cool. 1-2 hours.

Cover. Put in refrigerator overnight or 8-12 hours. Keep refrigerated until consumed.

Take out of frig. Unmold.

Cut into thin slices or desired thickness. Cook in preheated iron skillet or flat iron griddle on low to medium heat depending on how close you want to monitor cooking. Cooking time approximately 10 minutes on each side.

Serve with ketchup, mustard, honey, maple syrup or whatever you desire. Enjoy.

Yum.

.

No Vision – Just Ambition – In America Today

http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/Detail.aspx?assetId=80779

I started writing this less than a week ago and I thought Oh No, another sour grapes thing about the RCC in the seventies in Philly that drove the masses out of the churches and schools in time or at least in the inner city as they are now calling my old neighborhood.

As some friend has described to me, with planned or likely closings of RC churches here, there actually, there will be no RC churches in the Frankford and Harrowgate sections of the city soon. 

My own grade school closed in 2003. And the economics of it all is not necessarily racist. The state and city screw things up with popular school vouchers legislation or threat of its passage which from a distance I do not know much about.  

I do know that as soon as you add money to a system with school vouchers or even employer covered health or dental care, you directly or indirectly inflate the basic cost of doing business. That is economics and some politics.

That education in America is big business with student loans, seven hundred dollar college text books etc. That is economics and politics.

The real crux of the matter was that jobs first went south and then overseas and emptied the local factories of very marginal jobs of the average factory workers when those jobs went south. That is economics.

Without a job - you and your environment become dysfunctional. Not rocket science to understand. 

The above bill board in the shabby shopping district of downtown Philly at Third Street and Market Street was where us factory workers went to find bargains that the department stores  further up the street could not offer us. We paid cash. We had no credit.

The money for that billboard came out of the archdiocese’s coffers or some non-profit organization or the obsessive compulsive wallets of Koch Brothers or Mellon Scaife types doing their social experimentation on the masses.

Like I said I started to write this a few days ago, stopped and erased it. I was inspired at first by the historic photo archives picture because of the date and the subject matter – abortion.

1971 was about the time I stopped going to church.  I was tired of the Sunday pulpit demands to write my state legislature to demand that Catholic Sharia Law on Contraception become the law in Pennsylvania.

Science had made a paradigm shift thing and the new chemistry of birth control just overwhelmed the boys in the RC clergy. They have never caught up.

It is a funny thought and I have mentioned it one way or another in the five years since I started this blog, the church left me, us behind when it abandoned spirituality and went straight for the economic and political approach to human sexuality.  

That if an ambitious Cardinal Krol was not hell bent on becoming pope, and attended his flock with some love instead of a Wharton Spreadsheet; maybe the economics and politics of the inner city and the racial divides could have been addressed.  

That some jobs in factories could have been saved, that there would have been less racial fear and less white flight to the suburbs and places like Frankford or Harrowgate would still have catholic grade schools, high schools and even churches there today.

In other words, there was no vision.  There seemed to be only ambition to achieve some corporate religious agenda.

There was no Vision.  There was only Ambition.

And that stagnation, which ignores the heart or the spirit of things and life situations that matter to us locally, could have been addressed by mature efforts and solutions. 

So it goes. 

.

Tornay and Estermann – Victims of Papal Politics and Abuses of Power? – Opus Dei

Cedric Tornay's Medal

Considering my timeline piece and the possible real connection of John Paul IIs rehabilitation of Cardinal Rigali back into JPIIs power circle, the response tells me that there is a worldwide hunger to find out about the possible faked “suiciding” of Cedric Tornay, the Swiss Guard scapegoat caught up in the greater politics of Free Masonry and Opus Dei within the ranks of the little people in the Vatican surrounding the Papal Monarchy.

One thing begins to emerge from reading.  That many young professionals are recruited by secret organizations such as the P2 Italian Masons and Opus Dei to spy on their superiors. They are often asked by important clerics such as bishops and cardinals to do this in the name of some greater glory of faith.  The truth is that pawns in these spying operations get rewarded with promotions or murdered or even arrested like the pope’s butler Paolo Gabriele, himself a member of the Communion and Liberation Catholic cult that surrounds the pope much like the late paranoid American billionaire Howard Hughes surrounded himself only with an army of Mormon bodyguards.

The power brokers are spying on each other in the Vatican in order to perpetuate power in the next papal election.  It is important that the next election delivers the right results.  Otherwise a lot of cronies backing the wrong horse will have to pay back a lot of Vatican Bank interest free loans on day one of a new hostile papacy of some other party.

Considering how Cardinal Rigali got rehabilitated and is now still actively serving on committees in the Vatican, the death of Alois Estermann, his wife, and Cedric Tornay is an important example of power politics played out in the lives of many, many victims, not unlike two million abused Catholic children over the last fifty years within the RCC.

 

And if you look at Rigali’s protégés, Monsignor Lynn of Philadelphia Child Endangerment fame, Opus Dei Bishop Finn in Kansas City and Predophile Bribe/Bonus payer Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York City in this one big Circle Jerk of power and abuse of power in the RCC, you see how unstable and sad the world has become on the global stage because of the cesspool of power in the Vatican and its extended power games worldwide.

From the Internet on Cedric Tornay:

...Neither version fit for Muguette Baudat. She noticed numerous discrepancies in her son’s last letter to her (released by the Vatican) and concluded the letter was either doctored or a forgery. When Tornay’s body was flown to Switzerland for the final funeral, Baudat literally stole the body from a Swiss morgue to have a second autopsy done by Dr. Thomas Crompecher, professor of forensic medicine at the University of Lausanne. Based on his conclusions, Baudat retained Luc Brossolet and Jacques Verges, the two French lawyers who had defended Slobodan Milosevic before the World Court at the Hague. At a press conference her lawyers released a seventy-five page report that disputed the Vatican’s version of the murders and asked for a new investigation. 

Brossolet and Verges claimed the second autopsy contradicted the Vatican’s conclusions on several points. First, Tornay’s service pistol used 9 millimeter bullets, but the exit wound in his skull measured 7 millimeters. Second, Tornay apparently suffered a fracture of a cranium bone, which was not on the bullet’s trajectory. His lungs contained a large amount of blood and saliva which could not have been caused by suicide, but could have been caused by internal bleeding due to blows on the head before he died. Third, the Vatican’s claim that Tornay had an egg-sized tumor in his head (which supported the “fit of madness” conclusion) was contradicted by the second autopsy, which found no tumor.The report also noted that Tornay’s front teeth were broken off, as if a gun had been forced into his mouth. Finally, graphologists and psychologists who examined Tornay’s final letter to his mother have also concluded the letter is a forgery. 

Despite these discrepancies, which may or may not be explainable within the Vatican’s or John Follain’s theories of how the murders were committed, the Vatican has thus far refused to reopen the investigation. Baudat’s lawyers are not accredited by the Vatican City State, so they have no standing to be heard. Brossolet and Verges tried to get accreditation, but were told by the president of the Vatican Appellate Court that “The case is closed.“ Baudat and her lawyers appealed to the pope, but there is no indication they have received a reply. It seems the mystery will remain unsolved for the foreseeable future. 

Alois Estermann’s predecessor, former Guard Commander Roland Buchs, gave a speech at Tornay’s funeral in Switzerland that Cardinal Sodano refused to allow him to say at the Vatican funeral. After noting that Tornay was well regarded by his fellow guards, and that “his first step as a young adult was to put himself at the service of the Church,” Buchs strayed from the Vatican story line even further by saying: 

”His act remains mysterious. Who can understand his last gesture? At this tragic time, may ’whys’ and ’wherefores’ remain in suspense…many questions remain unanswered. I think that God knows the real truth, and the precise reasons behind this tragedy. 

The last words will be given to Cedric Tornay’s mother. After attending her son’s funeral in Rome she remarked, “It struck me that the Vatican smelled of death.”
 

.

.

Poor Clares Monastery Philadelphia

.

Cedric Tornay - Vatican’s Lee Harvey Oswald? - Swiss Guards Murder Coverup?

Cedric Tornay - Murderer or Hierarchy Scapegoat?

Warning: This a not a conspiracy theory but it is, as I favor things in studying history, a timeline thing that may or may shed some light on a chain of events on that timeline, events that may or may not be as they officially seem. 

http://www.phillymag.com/articles/catholics_in_crisis_sex_and_deception_in_the_archdiocese_of_philadelphia/page6   Page 6-7

Yet there are whispers that even timid Justin Rigali may have gotten into a bit of hot water in Rome. He was working as secretary of the Congregation for Bishops, which is the number two position in the second-most important congregation in the Vatican; that congregation recommends candidates for bishop. 

The secretary almost always serves at least five years. But Rigali was moved out after four years and one month—that’s when he was sent to St. Louis, to oversee the archdiocese there. One theory has it that Rigali may have gotten too aggressive in pushing his choices for bishops—that he might have, in other words, crossed someone in the Vatican with enough power to undermine his career. 

There are also repeated, though unsubstantiated, rumors—ones cited by several Vatican or Rigali observers I spoke to—that there might have been another reason he left Rome. While at the Vatican, Rigali became chaplain for the Swiss Guards, the ex-military guys, young and unmarried, who provide security there. Uncharacteristic of a man dedicated to carefully building a Vatican career, Rigali befriended them, drank with them, and was involved with them to an extent that appeared unseemly to many. “Princes of the Church do not drink with the hired help,” one longtime Vatican observer says. (The archdiocese also said it will not dignify questions about Rigali and the Swiss Guards with a response.)

In 1999, in frail health and on his way home from Mexico, Pope John Paul II would make an unprecedented stop in St. Louis to see his long-time Vatican worker bee. It seemed to be a clear message: You are still one of us.

The cardinal, now 76, appears to want to get back to Rome—where his gray presence is suited for behind-the-scenes work. “He runs off to Rome every two weeks,” says a local priest who worked in the archdiocese’s office and got to know Rigali when both of them were at the Vatican two decades ago. “His work there is more important to him than here—it’s a terrible thing for the parishioners and clergy.” Many observers believe that the Vatican will soon find someone new to run the Philadelphia archdiocese. 

Clinton, JPII, Rigali, St. Louis January 1999

http://www.catholicsupply.com/pope/pope1.html

St. Louis' Archbishop Justin Rigali announced the visit (John Paul II) to the St. Louis media on Thursday, April 22, 1998.

Cedric Tornay, Gladys Meza (Estermann), Alois Estermann

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057916/Pope-told-investigate-Vatican-murder-suicide-amid-claims-cover-up.html

A murder-suicide (May 4,1998) involving the Swiss Guard that rocked the Vatican in a mystery worthy of a Dan Brown thriller is back in the spotlight after Pope Benedict XVI was asked to intervene and reopen the case.

Swiss Guard Cedric Tornay, 23, shot dead the famous unit's commanding officer Alois Estermann, 43, and his wife Gladys Meza before turning the gun on himself - allegedly in a fit of rage after being overlooked for promotion.

Within hours of the triple deaths in 1998 - the first violent deaths on Vatican soil in decades - officials closed the case saying it was a simple case of corporal Tornay having gone mad after being given medication for a brain tumour.

…Mr Brossellett added that he had found 'inconsistencies' in the official autopsy report provided by the Vatican after they had a second one carried out in Lausanne when the body was returned to his native Switzerland.

…He said:'Our autopsy showed that Cedric Tornay was turned at the time of the shot but the Vatican one said he was on his knees and facing forward. So their reconstruction is wrong.'

Mr Brossellett also said that they had discovered the night of the murders a friend of Estermann's had called his apartment and had heard 'bangs and shouting' and that he thought four people were in the house at the time of the killings.

Mrs Baudat said:'As far as I am concerned the original investigation is full of lies and contradictions and was carried out at such a speed so as to hide the real truth. It was a murder carried out to get Estermann out of the way and then helpfully blame it on a dead madman.'

    ----------------------------

(No doubt when Cardinal Law dropped the ball in Boston in 2002 and the bigger picture of institutional abuse and cover up became apparent nationwide, John Paul II was eager to appoint a loyal soldier, Rigali, who may have owed JPII a Vatican favor or two or three (?), to keep a lid on the Krol/Bevilacqua abuse cover-ups in Philly.  While John Paul II owed little to Bevilacqua, he owed his very papacy directly to John Cardinal Krol of Philadelphia.)

John Cardinal Krol of Philadelphia - King Maker

http://thisculturalchristian.blogspot.com/2011/04/john-paul-ii-king-maker-edward-piszek.html

Now we have the Monsignor Lynn Child Endangerment trial going on currently in Philadelphia. Etc. One thing follows another? 

So it goes.

.

Cardinal Chaput Offers to Sell His 61 Room Palace in Philly

$200 Million Property - 16 ? Rooms

Cardinal Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia is threatening to sell his 61 room Mansion at 5700 City Avenue in Philadelphia.  Yeah right.  It is perhaps a sincere for the moment and or a feigned gesture to offset all the pain of school and parish closings coming on the scheduled January 6, 2012 announcement.

The Philadelphia Inquirer misreported the scale and dimensions of this mega mansion that Philadelphia Archbishops have lived in since the 1930s with the infamous Cardinal Dougherty being the first.  Dougherty was the one that staged a successful Catholic boycott of the “Jewish Movie Industry” in the 30's in order to censor every movie produced in Hollywood at the time.  Can’t find a decent photo of him on the net but I believe there is a Thomas Eakins portrait of him in the Philadelphia Museum of Art when he was an ambitious monsignor on the make.  Thomas Eakins portraits did not come cheap back when.  Humble.  Humble. Humble.

Anyway, the Inquirer that these days seems to censor and or clear all its reporting of Cardinal Chaput’s new regime through the Chancery, had posted a niggardly photo, cloaked by massive trees, of the back of the mansion, the servant's wing no doubt, and states that it is 16 rooms (on which floor?).  More like 61 rooms in this “Neverland” fantasy palace for the bishops of Philly.  Cardinal Krol had a three hole golf course on the back part of this 8.7 acre chateau. 

I estimate you could build at least 200 luxury condos on the property at an easy one to two million minimum apiece.  Money, money, money is needed for the tens of millions of dollars going to the lawyers and child abuse settlements and show trials about to begin in the Spring there in Philly. Sell the Prince Crib or close a dozen or two high schools and grade schools? Tuff choice. Whatever.

Cardinal Chaput is only offering to sell the property to offset all the pain the faithful will have to endure on the Feast of the Three Kings January 6. The offer of this property sale and its likely million dollar a year upkeep will be no doubt be forgotten January 7 and misreported and or never again reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Whatever again.

Have a nice day. 


.