Top Ten

Over at the Son Rise Morning Show Blog, I’ve jumped on the Catholic blogwagon by listing what I think are the Top Ten Most Fascinating Catholics of 2008. Here’s an excerpt:

1. Pope Benedict XVI:Inexplicably charitable in his decimation of the dictatorship of relativism, I’m still waiting for this guy to disappoint me. His visit to the United States this year put the Leader of the Free World in schoolboy mode. He’s reviving interest in liturgy, Scripture, and the Church Fathers. I heart my German Shepherd.
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5. Chase Hilgenbrinck: It’s not the kind of thing you hear about every day: a Major League Soccer star leaves a professional athletic career to start seminary, but that’s exactly what this young man did. After a successful soccer career in Latin America, he was traded to the New England Revolution. However, after less than a year with the Revolution, he left it all to pursue a vocation to the priesthood. We’re excited to hear about what God does with this young man.
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9. Tim Russert: When Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden argued on “Meet the Press” that the Catholic Church has held ambiguous views on abortion through the centuries, I’m sure I wasn’t alone in wishing that Tim Russert were still alive to put a holy smack down on them. Among political journalists, he had no equal. He had a knack for sifting through jargon and getting the truth out of politicians, which is a significantly more daunting task that most people realize. Requiescat in Pace.

For the full list, click here. Please feel free to add your own nominations in the combox below…

M. Swaim