Since his election to the papacy on March 13, 2013, I’ve been following Pope Francis – at times actively, and at times passively, but always keeping me eye on him via the Catholic newspapers, Internet sites, and Vatican news bulletins. Although I was initially skeptical about what kind of pope Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio would become, […]
In my public policy work on behalf of Kentucky’s Catholic bishops, I often have the opportunity to speak and write about the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Discussion of the Church’s social doctrine, at least when it occurs before a large audience, almost inevitably gives rise to fierce opposition. This opposition can come from people […]
When I was 19 weeks pregnant, an ultrasound of my baby revealed markers for a condition called trisomy 18. We were offered amniocentesis, which we refused because we didn’t want to risk hurting our baby. We were told we would have more choices if we knew for sure. We said we would never abort our […]
One Saturday not long ago, I was sitting in my living-room and Colin, my 5-year-old grandson, was on my lap. I don’t remember what we were doing — watching “Peppa Pig” on TV or reading a Dr. Seuss book or playing out another episode of “Good Guys vs. Bad Guys,” I’m sure. Colin grabbed my […]
The nude photograph of Agnieszka Radwanska has caused quite a stir inside and outside of the Catholic Church. Agnieszka is the fourth ranked world tennis champ who posed naked for ESPN Magazine. When the photo went public – and viral – she was dropped from the Polish Catholic youth movement, Krucjata Mlodych (Youth Crusade), where […]
Why are the Philippines, Malta, Costa Rica and now Ireland succumbing to the population control mentality and anti-religious sentiment? Compared to so many other Catholic nations, these have long held firm. What has kept the anti-life agenda at bay for so long has been the vibrant living of the gift of faith. It permeated every […]
For the past several weeks the nation has been focused and absorbed with the George Zimmerman trial. This trial ended on 7/13/13 when a “Not Guilty” verdict was rendered by the jury after much evidence and testimony was presented in the courtroom. Another trial was also occurring this past week involving an unborn child who […]
God calls us each to holiness, to sainthood. Every day, each experience we have helps us grow in our faith and in our purpose: to achieve holiness; to become saints; to fully become the person God intends us to be. Each experience, then, has the potential to be “purgative.” Purgation is a process that gets […]
We tried. Our cat….the one I have dubbed “Cat’…is indispensable and obviously knows it. Our son found ‘Cat’ outside his apartment a few years back and called to see if we could give her a home. He named her ‘Sheba’–but I’ve never quite settled into that name, so for me she remains – ‘Cat.’ I’m […]
The world is in disarray in large part because we have become a civilization of idol worshippers. The never-ending pursuit of more money, better homes, everlasting leisure, career advancement, political dominance, greater celebrity, religious indifference, and a lack of a clear Christian identity are clouding our ability to sit in the silence where we can […]
Q: Recently, a boy at my daughter’s Christian high school revealed to his lunch table buddies that he is gay. The group was caught off guard, but not surprised. After a few days, the novelty of this news wore off and the general feeling on the part of the kids is, “Whatever.” In short, it’s clear […]
During the period between 1789 and 1799, France was deep in the throes of revolution with forces of change advocating for democratic reforms. With the downfall of the monarchy in 1792, the Committee of Public Safety became the governing body. From September 1793 – July 1794, France lived in the period famously known as The […]
Religious representatives from Egypt speaking to the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expressed the hope for a positive development in the crisis-ridden country following the fall from power of the Muslim Brother Mohamed Mursi. The Coptic-Catholic Bishop of Asyut in Upper Egypt, Kyrillos William, told ACN on Tuesday, July […]
We do not really want a religion that is right where we are right. We want a religion that is right where we are wrong. We do not want, as the newspapers say, a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world. -G.K. Chesterton Chesterton’s words resonate […]
Do you see yourself as worthy of God’s love? Many women don’t. Due to sin, disappointments in life, and voices in the outside world, Satan is often able to convince women that they have lost God’s love and these women in turn give up hope. “Satan wants nothing more for us than for us to […]
What Catholics typically call “the First Pentecost” was actually a New Pentecost itself.
I went through an extended period last year during which I had difficulty praying. The stretch lasted many weeks in which I couldn’t find the words to speak to God as I usually did, couldn’t sit silently in His presence as I usually did because I wasn’t certain He was there and struggled simply to say the […]
UNICEF says that nations are bound by international law to recognize the right of children to sexually-related information and services without parental knowledge. UNICEF’s latest annual report revealed that it interprets two UN human rights treaties–on disabilities and children’s rights–to include a child’s right “to confidential sexual and reproductive health information and services during adolescence […]
All around the World people are making final preparations for World Youth Day in July, my thoughts wandered back to its beginnings. It was Palm Sunday, 1984. Blessed John Paul II, speaking in Saint Peter’s Square said to the people, “What a fantastic spectacle is presented on this stage by your gathering here today! Who claimed […]
Lumen fidei – The light of faith (LF) is the first Encyclical signed by Pope Francis. Divided into four chapters, plus an introduction and a conclusion, the Pontiff explains that the Letter supplements Benedict XVI’s Encyclicals on charity and hope, and takes up the “fine work” carried out by the Pope Emeritus, who had already […]
The “God moment” arrived during the performance of a high school musical one year ago. Not that it should have been confused with just any high school musical. This was the Youth Sing Praise program, an outstanding combination theater camp and religious retreat that has been operating for one week in June for the last […]
Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five; Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year. Other than recalling a fragment of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s wonderful, if historically inaccurate poem, many Americans, myself included, do not know much […]
A representative of international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has given a first-hand account of last weekend’s mass protest in Egypt in which at least three people died in a drive-by shooting near Assiut’s Coptic Catholic Cathedral. Passing on appeals for prayers for peace from two senior clerics, ACN’s Neville […]
In this column I have frequently referenced findings about the dismal way in which many Catholics look at the sacraments. I think the problem is more than just the usual ranting and ravings about a liberal church, how horrible things are after Vatican II, true as all these clichés are. Instead the problem stems from […]
