The Reviews are Coming in on the New Catholic Bishop of Shreveport

An update.

First the Religion Reporter at the Shreveport Times at her blog Everyday Faith has an entry Why is this bishop a big deal?. Diane Haag is a pretty good religious reporter(even though like the Sports Page I think the mega Gannett Corp has been skippin on resources in that area for the past few years) and her entries as well as her articles are ones to watch in the the future. I will be putting her on my links. If I recall correctly she is Catholic because I seem to remember her writing a article how the Trip of John Paul the II to Louisiana affected her as a Catholic and as Religious reporter. So we shall be blessed that as the excitement grows she can explain a lot of detail to non Catholics. Area Catholics should be looking at this blessed event coming so soon on Pope Benedict's trip to the USA as an opportunity to talk about our Faith to our neighbors.

Vox Feminae has an update here at Msgr. Michael Duca update...

I am so Happy that the very busy Vox Feminae has found us another great Louisiana Catholic Blogger and also from the Diocese of Shreveport. I shall introduce him later with a grand separate post(yes I promise a Louisiana Catholic Blogger Update today) but he is blogging at the Apprentice of St. Joseph . He states this very encouraging news He states in his posts Orthodoxy of Bishop-Elect Michael Duca Confirmed :

been told by those who know him fairly personally (Laura over at "...and if not...", a friend of mine from Dallas) that he was orthodox, but the more information I get, the more amazed I am at the reviews this bishop has received. I met him yesterday after his first Mass in the Diocese of Shreveport and he seemed like nothing less than a holy, humble, and very happy priest. His homily was a personal introduction, but he wove the readings into it quite nicely. Word on the street is that he is everything we need: orthodox, passionate, pro-life, liturgically conservative, vocation-inspiring, holy, joyous, humble, down-to-earth, extroverted, energetic, and overall a great guy

Ah Music to my ears!!!!

The Widely read American Papist blog at their entry on this had some wonderful Comments. Here are a few:

He has a JCL from the Ang...what more do we need to know?

Msgr. Duca is a big supporter of the pro-life committee in Dallas and helped greatly with establishing the post-abortion healing ministry about 10 years ago.

I briefly met the Msgr. a few months ago, seemed like a very good man. Much more important than my own is the quality of his seminarians. I was very impressed with the academic and spiritual formation that was described by the seminarians at Holy Trinity. Of course all the classes are taken through the University of Dallas, but it did seem like an interest in philosophy and theology was being cultivated at the seminary as well.

Why on earth has Shreveport already received its new bishop when the neighboring Diocese of Little Rock has been without one for much longer?!?(I will answer that. Because no doubt the Holy Father knows that Arkansas Catholics among their many sins are Razorback fans that yell Soouiee all over the place and give us such things as the Clintons!!! It is clear to me the delay is Penace. Oh yeah they also have the "Boot" this year so it is justice.)

Msgr Duca is also known around Dallas for his excellent cooking. At any large diocesan event involving food, he always provides (and/or auctions off) his famous sausage.(this is actually important in places like Shreveport and Monroe)

A Concord Pastor Comments , our Priest blogger from Boston has another nice post Bishop-elect Michael which has a beautiful picture.

Wheelbarrow Manor has a nice post called We Used to Hug Him!!

Further Proof that Louisiana and the Diocese of Shreveport is getting a Bishop that means business at St Johns Valdost and his entry Pope Benedict Extends His Overhaul to Shreveport. He states in part:

Duca 55, is a priest for the Diocese of Dallas, Texas and is the current Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas. He has also served as the Vocations Director for the Diocese.Not much seems to be known yet about Duca, but initial reports are quite positive. One reader related that when the Vatican issued its Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders, Charles Grahmann, who was the Bishop of Dallas at the time, told the Dallas Morning News that the the letter would not require that he make any changes in the seminary. That same day, Msgr. Duca told the same reporter that there indeed were problems at the seminary and that changes needed to be made to conform to the Vatican's requirements

.In another interview featuring Christians of multiple denominations, Duca was asked whether it was better to venerate the cross or the crucifix. His answer was solid: "The crucifix, because we're not resurrected yet. Which is why the crucifix is important."You can also read more about Msgr. Duca here.An Italian bishop for the Deep South. What a great idea! We can use a few more!.