Search Targets Grim Catholics

Know a contrary Catholic? A scowler, not a smiler? Full of negativity? Gloom and doom?

If so, Mitch Finley of Spokane wants to know. And, it doesn’t have to be a local person.

The search for the grimmest of grim Catholics is being conducted nationwide.

Finley, author of “The Joy of Being Catholic” and “Catholic is Wonderful!,” wants to award the first-ever Grim Catholic of the Year Award. And, to confirm the sincerity of his quest, he has established the Grim Catholic Institute of America, 1657 E. Gordon.

The award will be presented to a prominent Catholic who, by his or her words and actions, best exemplifies the direct opposite of the joy and tolerance Jesus exemplified through his teachings, said Finley, an adjunct professor of religious studies at Gonzaga University.

The grim “winner” will be announced Oct. 25, the anniversary of the birth of the Rev. Charles Coughlin, the anti-Communist, anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi “Radio Priest” of the 1930s and ‘40s, “who was perhaps the grimmest American Catholic of the 20th century,” Finley said.

It’s possible for anyone to be a grim Catholic - from liberals to conservatives, he said.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Consequently, we expect to offend just about everyone in the church sooner or later.”

For more information, call 484-4668.

Lourdes organ concert

“Three Organs, Two Consoles, One Church” will be presented at 4 p.m. Sunday at The Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, 1115 W. Riverside.

Janet Satre Ahrend, a faculty member at Gonzaga University, and James E. Barrett, director of music at the cathedral, will perform a concert for two organs and music for one organ, four hands. This is the duo’s third concert at Our Lady of Lourdes.

The program is free, but a goodwill offering will be taken.

Ordination

The Rev. Timothy N. Hays will be ordained a priest for the Diocese of Spokane at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes by the Most Rev. William S. Skylstad, bishop of the Spokane Catholic Diocese.

While in seminary, Hays taught school in the St. Charles Parish as well as parishes in Minnesota. He is a 1992 graduate of Gonzaga University.

A Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Charles Roman Catholic Church.

The new priest is the son of D. Gayle and Jeanne E. Hays.

, DataTimes