Are People with Disabilities Welcome at Your Parish?FITZ: In 1978, the US Catholic Bishops wrote, “For most Catholics the community of believers is embodied in the local parish. The parish is the door to participation for individuals with disabilities, and it is the responsibility of the pastor and lay leaders to make sure that this door is always open.” Forty years later, the doors are still – sometimes literally – locked for many Catholics with disabilities.
In a few short minutes of conversation prompted by a video about the need for accessibility, Emily DeArdo (from Opening the Roof) and Rebecca Frech (mother of WCMX champion skater Ella Frech) compiled a short list of areas where Catholic parishes often fall short in making sure all parishioners can participate in parish life. Some of these adaptations are astonishing simple
Saturday, June 30, 2018
5 ways to navigate through your suffering
5 Ways to Navigate Through Your Suffering: In the midst of suffering and heartache, it is hard to imagine that one will come out better on the other side. Suffering, like many things in life, has dichotomous power: power to enslave and power to liberate; the power to dispirit and the power to uplift; the power to harden and the power to soften; the power to destroy and the power to make new.
Montessori schools (and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd) are exceptionally successful. So why aren’t there more of them?
Montessori schools are exceptionally successful. So why aren’t there more of them? | America MagazineGOBRY: The otherworldly quiet. This is how you recognize a true Montessori preschool. For over a century now, it is usually the thing that strikes people first, and anybody who knows what children ages 3 to 6 are usually like can see why. In a school where the Montessori Method is faithfully applied, the decibel levels will typically be eerily, monkishly low.
Why your brain never runs out of problems to find
Why your brain never runs out of problems to find: Why do many problems in life seem to stubbornly stick around, no matter how hard people work to fix them? It turns out that a quirk in the way human brains process information means that when something becomes rare, we sometimes see it in more places than ever.
What ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ gets right and wrong
What “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” Gets Right and Wrong | Word on FireBARRON: The original Jurassic Park film from twenty-five years ago rather inventively explored a theme that has been prominent in Western culture from the time of the Romantic reaction to the Enlightenment—namely, the dangers of an aggressive and arrogant rationalism. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, poets and philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Herder, William Blake, and John Keats warned that the lust to understand and control nature would result in disaster for both the human soul and for the physical world. Goethe, for instance, railed against the Newtonian scientific practice, which involved the intrusive questioning of nature rather than the patient and respectful contemplation of it. And Blake memorably complained of the “Satanic mills,” which is to say, the forges and factories that had begun to blight the English countryside with the onset of the Industrial Revolution.
Bishops cautiously hopeful as South Sudan declares permanent ceasefire
Bishops cautiously hopeful as South Sudan declares permanent ceasefire: More than four-and-a-half years after a devastating civil war broke out in the world’s youngest country, a permanent ceasefire has been declared by South Sudan officials and rebel leaders. But for the peace agreement to last, Catholic and world leaders stressed that the nation’s leadership must be ready to rebuild society. Bishop Barani Hiiboro of Tombura-Yambio, president of the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishop’s Conference, welcomed the ceasefire, according to Independent Catholic News, but added that “if it is to mean anything for the suffering people of South Sudan, then our leadership must face the task of rebuilding our broken pieces - social and political relationships, the fragile economy, and the infrastructure of our states, devastated by the conflict.”
Friday, June 29, 2018
Let's bring more light to the heated immigration debate...
Immigration: Human Dignity or Obedience? Maybe Both?LITTLE: My husband and I spent hours in a gray waiting room to prove to the United States government that we were actually married. Since marriage is one of the sure ways to get a Green Card, many are more than willing to pay for a U.S. citizen to marry them, go through the process, get the citizenship and then get a divorce.
There were pictures on the wall, and more than enough chairs for everyone. I could not say the same thing for other visa process centers I had been. Couples went in and out, some nervous, some confident, while my husband got more and more impatient by the minute. See, he was in the Air Force then, was a Marine before, and by all accounts an upstanding citizen who had to pay thousands of dollars, fill out countless forms and wait for years before his wife can become part of the country he loved.
There were pictures on the wall, and more than enough chairs for everyone. I could not say the same thing for other visa process centers I had been. Couples went in and out, some nervous, some confident, while my husband got more and more impatient by the minute. See, he was in the Air Force then, was a Marine before, and by all accounts an upstanding citizen who had to pay thousands of dollars, fill out countless forms and wait for years before his wife can become part of the country he loved.
Does pushing the ‘walk’ button help you cross the street faster? A transport engineer weighs in...
Does pushing the 'walk' button help you cross the street faster? A transport engineer weighs in: According to an American study, people spend around 1.6 billion hours each year standing idly at the roadside, at the cost of US$2.6 billion to the American economy. With all this waiting around, it’s only natural to question whether pushing the “walk” button will help us get to our destination sooner.
To answer this question, we need to understand how the traffic lights work. Strict rules are applied within traffic control hardware to decrease the risk of collisions. For example, minimum times are set between one green light and the next, to ensure that vehicles can clear the junction safely.
To answer this question, we need to understand how the traffic lights work. Strict rules are applied within traffic control hardware to decrease the risk of collisions. For example, minimum times are set between one green light and the next, to ensure that vehicles can clear the junction safely.
There is certainly some shipwreck in the Church today. We need deeper fidelity and courageous evangelization...
Acts and us - Denver CatholicWEIGEL: The Church’s custom of reading virtually all of the Acts of the Apostles at daily Mass during the Easter season struck me as particularly apt this year, and for three reasons.
First, Acts reminds us that, with the exception of several great public set-pieces (like the first Pentecost), evangelization for the first missionary disciples was a retail affair. The deacon Philip converts the Ethiopian eunuch man-to-man in Acts 8. Peter converts the centurion Cornelius, his family and friends, and thereby begins the mission to the Gentiles, in Acts 10. Paul evangelizes Lydia on the riverside outside Philippi in Acts 16, and builds his local churches by the retail catechesis of families and small groups throughout Asia Minor and Greece.
First, Acts reminds us that, with the exception of several great public set-pieces (like the first Pentecost), evangelization for the first missionary disciples was a retail affair. The deacon Philip converts the Ethiopian eunuch man-to-man in Acts 8. Peter converts the centurion Cornelius, his family and friends, and thereby begins the mission to the Gentiles, in Acts 10. Paul evangelizes Lydia on the riverside outside Philippi in Acts 16, and builds his local churches by the retail catechesis of families and small groups throughout Asia Minor and Greece.
The most important virtues that no one talks about
The Most Important Virtues That No One Talks About. | Classical Catholic EducationLANGLEY: Sometimes I wonder if the stories, that we have all heard, concerning saints, who did not appear to be intellectually gifted, might mislead many people into thinking that sanctity does not require any special focus on the development of the mind.
For example, how many Catholics out there might think something like the following:
Well, education is very important, but, thankfully, it is not required for sanctity. I mean, look at me, I was a below average Geometry student and I seem to be OK. Or take dear Saint Bernadette. She was a poor learner and could barely read and write. Yet what a marvelous saint!
For example, how many Catholics out there might think something like the following:
Well, education is very important, but, thankfully, it is not required for sanctity. I mean, look at me, I was a below average Geometry student and I seem to be OK. Or take dear Saint Bernadette. She was a poor learner and could barely read and write. Yet what a marvelous saint!
In charity and clarity, Catholics need to reclaim the rainbow as a sign of mercy
Reclaiming the Rainbow | Catholic AnswersNASH: You may have noticed—at work, on TV, or maybe just looking out the window—that June has been “Pride Month,” when many celebrate what they see as social advances for those with same-sex attraction (SSA). The month was chosen to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, which took place in Greenwich Village in June 1969, when soliciting homosexual sex was still a crime. Almost fifty years later, though, same-sex “marriage” has been legalized in the United States and other countries; and many of our institutions celebrate homosexuality, while people who oppose it on moral grounds are subject to civil lawsuits, heavy fines and lawyer fees, and even criminal prosecution for hate crimes.
The Ghent Altarpiece Mystic Lamb is mystical again
The History Blog � Blog Archive � Ghent Altarpiece Mystic Lamb is mystical again: The formal name of what has become known as the Ghent Altarpiece is the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. The central panel of the massive 18-panel polyptych painted by Jan and Hubert van Eyck for the Saint Bavo Cathedral depicts the Lamb of God on an altar, encircled by kneeling angels. A symbol of the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb has a wound on its chest which gushes a thick stream of blood into a chalice. Adoring the Lamb in four distinct groups are prophets, apostles, saints, popes and assorted church figures, martyrs, the Righteous Judges and Warriors of Christ.
It is the only panel on the altarpiece that is horizontal and at 134.3 x 237.5 cm (4’5″ x 7’10”), it is as wide as the three vertically oriented panels above it.
It is the only panel on the altarpiece that is horizontal and at 134.3 x 237.5 cm (4’5″ x 7’10”), it is as wide as the three vertically oriented panels above it.
Is the open U.S. Supreme Court seat a religion story? Do we even need to ask that?
Is the open U.S. Supreme Court seat a religion story? Do we even need to ask that? — GetReligionMATTINGLY: If you live in Washington, D.C., or have sojourned there in the past, then you know that a high percentage of folks in the Beltway chattering classes wake up every morning with a dose of Mike Allen.
This was true in his "Playbook" days at The Politico and it's true now that he has moved on to create the Axios website, which is must-reading in this troubled Donald Trump era.
So if you want to know what DC folks are thinking about – after King Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court – then it's logical to do a quick scan of Allen's punchy offerings today in the "Axios AM" digital newsletter
This was true in his "Playbook" days at The Politico and it's true now that he has moved on to create the Axios website, which is must-reading in this troubled Donald Trump era.
So if you want to know what DC folks are thinking about – after King Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court – then it's logical to do a quick scan of Allen's punchy offerings today in the "Axios AM" digital newsletter
5 lessons on faith from St. Peter's time in jail
Five Lessons on Faith From Peter’s Time in Jail - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: On today’s Feast of Saints Peter and Paul it behooves us to look in detail at the first reading from today’s Mass and see in it a kind of roadmap to growing in faith. Peter’s story and experience were not just for him; they were for us as well. Let’s see what we can learn as we focus on five facts of faith from the story of St. Peter in today’s first reading.
Homily for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul
Whispers in the Loggia: On Peter and Paul, "Tradition," "Temptations"... and "Empty Triumphalism"COATOFARMS: The readings we have just heard link us to the apostolic Tradition. That Tradition “is not the transmission of things or words, an assortment of lifeless objects; it is the living stream that links us to the origins, the living stream in which those origins are ever present” (BENEDICT XVI, Catechesis, 26 April 2006) and offer us the keys to the Kingdom of heaven (cf. Mt 16:19). A Tradition ancient yet ever new, that gives us life and renews the joy of the Gospel. It enables us to confess with our lips and our heart: “‘Jesus Christ is Lord’, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:11).
Pope names new Archbishop of Melbourne, Australia’s largest diocese
Whispers in the Loggia: In Melbourne, It's Peter's Day – Pope Turns Page For Aussie Mega-FoldPALMO: A year to the day since Cardinal George Pell became the highest-ranking cleric ever to face indictment on civil sex-abuse charges, with the Vatican's finance chief set for trial over the coming weeks, the Pope has taken advantage of the brief lull to recast the leadership of Australia's largest diocese.
At Roman Noon on this feast of Saints Peter and Paul – which, as a Curial holiday, doesn't normally see appointments – Francis named Bishop Peter Comensoli, 54 (above), as ninth archbishop of Melbourne: already a towering assignment as home to a broadly diverse fold of 1.1 million Catholics, yet even more of a challenge these days not merely given the national church's ongoing sex-abuse tumult, but as the site of Pell's court proceedings.
At Roman Noon on this feast of Saints Peter and Paul – which, as a Curial holiday, doesn't normally see appointments – Francis named Bishop Peter Comensoli, 54 (above), as ninth archbishop of Melbourne: already a towering assignment as home to a broadly diverse fold of 1.1 million Catholics, yet even more of a challenge these days not merely given the national church's ongoing sex-abuse tumult, but as the site of Pell's court proceedings.
If Lenin had been trans
If Lenin Had Been Trans | The American ConservativeDREHER: Jesse Singal is an extremely fair-minded and diligent science journalist. He has become Public Enemy No. 1 to transgender activists because he questions their narrative. It’s not that he is opposed to transgenders — not in the least — but that in the course of his reporting, he keeps finding that science often does not back up their claims.
His latest triple-Hitler move was to publish a long piece in The Atlantic exploring how parents should respond if their children claim to be trans, given that the overwhelming majority of those children will eventually resolve their gender dysphoria in favor of their biological sex. Are hormones appropriate? Is surgery? If so, when? Singal, who identifies as a man of the left, writes about it sympathetically.
His latest triple-Hitler move was to publish a long piece in The Atlantic exploring how parents should respond if their children claim to be trans, given that the overwhelming majority of those children will eventually resolve their gender dysphoria in favor of their biological sex. Are hormones appropriate? Is surgery? If so, when? Singal, who identifies as a man of the left, writes about it sympathetically.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Here’s what pro-abortion forces fear might happen to Roe v. Wade after Kennedy’s gone
Here's What Could Happen to Roe v. Wade After Kennedy | Time: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement announcement on Wednesday sparked immediate questions about the future of abortion rights in the United States.
Kennedy, who was a pivotal swing vote in some of the most controversial rulings of the past 30 years, consistently upheld abortion rights during his tenure. But President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to select Supreme Court nominees who would “automatically” overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established the constitutional right to an abortion.
Kennedy, who was a pivotal swing vote in some of the most controversial rulings of the past 30 years, consistently upheld abortion rights during his tenure. But President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to select Supreme Court nominees who would “automatically” overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established the constitutional right to an abortion.
How far does papal authority go?
How Far Does Papal Authority Go?BRUGGER: When the Catholic Church refers to the “deposit of faith,” it means all the truths entrusted by God to the apostles (and so to humanity) in divine revelation. We know from the Council of Trent, Vatican I and Vatican II that this includes both “faith and morals.” Scripture teaches that Jesus specifically committed to Peter and his successors his authority to expound and guard these truths when he commanded Peter to “feed” (teach) and “tend” (protect) his sheep (John 21:15-17; Matthew 16:17-19; Matthew 28:20). And Catholics believe the Holy Spirit is the ultimate guarantor of the integrity of this commission (John 16:13).
Why 23:59 is the coolest hidden airline rule for travelers
Why 23:59 Is The Coolest Airline Rule For Travelers... - God Save The Points: Any connecting flight under 24 hours counts as just that – a connection. Anything over 24 hours counts as a stopover, which most airlines charge more for, on a large majority of plane tickets. By building in stopovers up to 23 hours and 59 minutes, you’re able to save money on the ticket, leave the airport, hit the city, (or the beach) and explore until your next flight. With the emergence of cheap airport lockers and storage options, it’s easier than ever to shed your bags and be free to roam.
Pope creates 14 new cardinals in ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica
The highest honor is to serve God's people, Francis tells new cardinals: At a ceremony for the creation of 14 cardinals Thursday, Pope Francis said the best promotion a person can receive is to serve the person of Christ as seen in the least of his people.
“This is the highest honor that we can receive, the greatest promotion that can be awarded us: to serve Christ in God’s faithful people,” the pope said at an ordinary consistory in St. Peter’s Basilica June 28.
Speaking to the new and to the existing cardinals, he said credible authority stems from “sitting at the feet of others,” serving those “who are hungry, neglected, imprisoned, sick, suffering, addicted to drugs, cast aside... real people, each with his or her own life story and experiences, hopes and disappointments, hurts and wounds.”
“This is the highest honor that we can receive, the greatest promotion that can be awarded us: to serve Christ in God’s faithful people,” the pope said at an ordinary consistory in St. Peter’s Basilica June 28.
Speaking to the new and to the existing cardinals, he said credible authority stems from “sitting at the feet of others,” serving those “who are hungry, neglected, imprisoned, sick, suffering, addicted to drugs, cast aside... real people, each with his or her own life story and experiences, hopes and disappointments, hurts and wounds.”
Justice Anthony Kennedy: The Supreme Court’s ‘swing vote’ retires
Justice Anthony Kennedy: The Supreme Court’s ‘Swing Vote’ RetiresDESOUZA: On two signature issues of the sexual revolution — abortion and same-sex “marriage” — the United States of America has an extreme position by global standards. And it is unique in holding that those positions are guaranteed by the Constitution, as opposed to legislative statute.
That is the principal legacy of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement June 27 after 30 years on the Supreme Court.
Justice Kennedy was an unlikely figure to dominate the Supreme Court as the swing vote, but as two four-vote blocks emerged on the court, conservative and liberal, his vote tipped the balance in numerous 5-4 decisions. In his last dozen years on the court, there was no more powerful public official in America. He alone decided, in case after case, what U.S. law would be on the most contested of public questions.
That is the principal legacy of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement June 27 after 30 years on the Supreme Court.
Justice Kennedy was an unlikely figure to dominate the Supreme Court as the swing vote, but as two four-vote blocks emerged on the court, conservative and liberal, his vote tipped the balance in numerous 5-4 decisions. In his last dozen years on the court, there was no more powerful public official in America. He alone decided, in case after case, what U.S. law would be on the most contested of public questions.
Sometimes, there are no human answers to our measures of pain
When There Are No Human Answers to Our Measures of Pain | Word on FireSCALIA: A friend of mine, one of the most searingly honest writers I know, is a woman who has suffered much throughout her life. She was abandoned as a child, raped as a child, used and abused in her relationships. Faith came later, and the practice of Catholicism has been a simultaneous bane and a balm to her life, as it often can be. A little over a year ago, she was plunged into the atomic grief that follows when one’s own child has died by his own hand. She has been existing, since then, within the sort of daily emotional disarray that can only be experienced when one is living out the psalter one psalm—sometimes one line—at a time.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
A handful of Dorothy Day’s most profound thoughts on the Mass
A handful of Dorothy Day’s most profound thoughts on the MassMILLS: “I awoke too late for Mass and that spoiled my day,” she wrote in her diaries one day early in her Catholic life. Many years later she wrote, “The weight of the world is on me when I awake, and until I get to Mass.” A lot of people think of Dorothy Day as a political figure, the radical who founded the Catholic Worker movement, and maybe as someone who lived her life in service to the poor.
She saw herself as first a faithful Catholic enfolded by the Church and fed by her sacraments. That comes through very strongly in her diaries. Published as The Duty of Delight, the diaries cover her life from 1934 — she’d entered the Church in 1927 — to a few days before her death on November 29, 1980.
She saw herself as first a faithful Catholic enfolded by the Church and fed by her sacraments. That comes through very strongly in her diaries. Published as The Duty of Delight, the diaries cover her life from 1934 — she’d entered the Church in 1927 — to a few days before her death on November 29, 1980.
This video of seminarians in cassocks singing on a train in Brazil will make your day
This Amazing Video of Seminarians in Cassocks Singing on a Train in Brazil Will Make Your Day! | ChurchPOP: A friend of ours Addae Vinicius is a seminarian in the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro. He and his fellow seminarians were riding a public train going somewhere – when they decided to break out in song. Really!
Vinicius was able to take two short videos, which you can watch below. In addition to their voices sounding great, you’ll also notice that many of them are wearing cassocks. I wish I was there to enjoy it in-person!
Vinicius was able to take two short videos, which you can watch below. In addition to their voices sounding great, you’ll also notice that many of them are wearing cassocks. I wish I was there to enjoy it in-person!
Here’s how to see the longest lunar eclipse of this century
Here's How To See The July Blood Moon, The Longest Lunar Eclipse of This Century: There have been some spectacular lunar and solar eclipses over the past few years, and next month brings another show for stargazers to check out.
The next total lunar eclipse will occur on July 27, 2018. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through Earth’s shadow, at which point it takes on a reddish tint, which is why the eclipse is colloquially called a "blood moon." You won't want to miss this eclipse, as it will be the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting one hour and 43 minutes.
The total eclipse will take place from 7:30 p.m. UTC (3:30 p.m. Eastern) until 9:13 p.m. UTC (5:13 p.m. Eastern). The moon will be partially eclipsed for roughly an hour before and after the total eclipse, and the maximum eclipse will occur at 8:22 p.m. UTC (4:22 p.m. Eastern).
The next total lunar eclipse will occur on July 27, 2018. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through Earth’s shadow, at which point it takes on a reddish tint, which is why the eclipse is colloquially called a "blood moon." You won't want to miss this eclipse, as it will be the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting one hour and 43 minutes.
The total eclipse will take place from 7:30 p.m. UTC (3:30 p.m. Eastern) until 9:13 p.m. UTC (5:13 p.m. Eastern). The moon will be partially eclipsed for roughly an hour before and after the total eclipse, and the maximum eclipse will occur at 8:22 p.m. UTC (4:22 p.m. Eastern).
Pope's ex-chief of staff says 'too early' to judge Vatican reform
Pope's ex-chief of staff says 'too early' to judge Vatican reformALLEN: Perhaps Pope Francis’s most powerful aide for the last five years, who will be named a cardinal tomorrow, says it’s still “premature” and “too early” to judge the results of the pontiff’s much-ballyhooed reform of the Vatican.
“It’s still to early to judge the reform,” said Italian Cardinal-designate Angelo Becciu, speaking to reporters on Wednesday.
“Many things have changed, things have been modified in discasteries [a word referring to Vatican departments], but we’re still searching to find the best path,” he said.
The state of Francis’s reform has been questioned lately by observers who note that aside from the consolidation of some pre-existing Vatican departments and the creation of some new ones, there’s been little tangible change in Vatican structures and operations. In the meantime, the Vatican’s traditional centers of power, especially the all-important Secretariat of State, appears to have consolidated its role rather than seeing it diminished or redefined.
“It’s still to early to judge the reform,” said Italian Cardinal-designate Angelo Becciu, speaking to reporters on Wednesday.
“Many things have changed, things have been modified in discasteries [a word referring to Vatican departments], but we’re still searching to find the best path,” he said.
The state of Francis’s reform has been questioned lately by observers who note that aside from the consolidation of some pre-existing Vatican departments and the creation of some new ones, there’s been little tangible change in Vatican structures and operations. In the meantime, the Vatican’s traditional centers of power, especially the all-important Secretariat of State, appears to have consolidated its role rather than seeing it diminished or redefined.
Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court
Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court: Justice Anthony Kennedy, a crucial swing vote on the Supreme Court, announced Wednesday he's retiring at the end of July, giving President Donald Trump another chance to fundamentally reshape the highest court in the land.
His departure could have massive effects on U.S. policy, particularly on abortion rights and gay rights nationwide. His announcement immediately raised questions about how long the court would stand by its earlier abortion rulings, including Roe v. Wade.
His departure could have massive effects on U.S. policy, particularly on abortion rights and gay rights nationwide. His announcement immediately raised questions about how long the court would stand by its earlier abortion rulings, including Roe v. Wade.
Pope Francis calls a ‘Hail Mary’ pass on Vatican financial reform
Pope Francis calls a 'Hail Mary' pass on Vatican financial reformALLEN: For some time now, Pope Francis’s ambitious attempt at financial reform of the Vatican has seemed like an American football game in which the pope’s team is down late in the fourth quarter, and backed up against its side of the field.
On Tuesday, Francis did what teams in that situation generally do - he called a “Hail Mary” pass, naming a loyal but largely untested ally to take over the Vatican’s main financial center of power. It is, in a real sense, both the most reassuring and also the riskiest move we’ve seen from the pontiff in some time.
On Tuesday, Francis did what teams in that situation generally do - he called a “Hail Mary” pass, naming a loyal but largely untested ally to take over the Vatican’s main financial center of power. It is, in a real sense, both the most reassuring and also the riskiest move we’ve seen from the pontiff in some time.
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
The amazing story of 12 Anglican nuns who all became Catholic
The Amazing Story of 12 Anglican Nuns Who All Became CatholicTURLEY: On Jan. 2, 2013, 12 fully habited nuns left their convent forever.
They walked or were helped to a waiting coach. On board there were some suitcases and bedding. They left with all they possessed.
As the coach drew away from their former home, other nuns similarly dressed waved “goodbye” to those leaving. One group of nuns had settled for what they had always known; another had set out on an unknown path. Both groups knew they would never see each other again.
They walked or were helped to a waiting coach. On board there were some suitcases and bedding. They left with all they possessed.
As the coach drew away from their former home, other nuns similarly dressed waved “goodbye” to those leaving. One group of nuns had settled for what they had always known; another had set out on an unknown path. Both groups knew they would never see each other again.
4 ways to respond to opioid addicts around you (from a Catholic cop)
4 Ways to Respond to Opioid Addicts Around You (From a Catholic Cop): I’m tired after having worked all day, it’s some hours past midnight, and my phone goes off. Another one. My wife is sound asleep and I do my best not to wake her as I get dressed and gather my equipment. I drive to a wealthy suburb, to an elderly housing complex, to an apartment in the ghetto, a quarter mile into the woods, under a bridge, to a poorly lit and cold basement. And there’s another one, cold, lifeless, stiff, lost. They have a needle in their hand, vomit in their mouth and next to their body is a couple of wax bags. This has been the fifth death this week and its only Tuesday. We work to identify this person and then make the grim notification to the family. Some are stoic, having already accepted that it was going to happen sooner or later. Some are heartbroken. Some refuse to believe it. They are all suffering as are others.
Homeschooling as a means to rebuilding Catholic culture
Homeschooling as a Means to Rebuilding Catholic Culture - Cardinal Newman Society: My wife and I have been teaching our kids at home for about eight years. I recall vividly when the idea of educating at home turned into a conviction. We were back in Saskatchewan, newly married, newly graduated, and preparing for graduate study in England. It was June and the days were long. My wife had recently completed her education degree and we were dreaming about how we would form our own future children. A small group of us met at a friend’s place at the edge of the city. We read together C.S. Lewis’ Abolition of Man.
Prayer to the saints is more biblical than you realize
Prayer to the Saints Is More Biblical Than You Realize | Stephen BealeBEALE: It turns out that the biblical models for prayer to the saints are more obvious than many of us realize. We can find what we are looking for in the many stories of the angels in Scripture. But, before we can present the evidence we need to make an argument as to why it is admissible.
Saints are like angels. First, we need to remember that the saints are regarded as being like angels—in that both are in heaven in the presence of God. Certainly this is a reasonable inference from the entire book of Revelation, in which both saints and angels are depicted as being present in the heavenly court. Moreover, Jesus declares in Matthew 22:30 that we will be “like the angels in heaven” when it comes to the absence of marrying in heaven. Finally, in 1 Corinthians 6:3 St. Paul tells us that we will judge the angels. It is safe to say that we are at least their heavenly peers.
Saints are like angels. First, we need to remember that the saints are regarded as being like angels—in that both are in heaven in the presence of God. Certainly this is a reasonable inference from the entire book of Revelation, in which both saints and angels are depicted as being present in the heavenly court. Moreover, Jesus declares in Matthew 22:30 that we will be “like the angels in heaven” when it comes to the absence of marrying in heaven. Finally, in 1 Corinthians 6:3 St. Paul tells us that we will judge the angels. It is safe to say that we are at least their heavenly peers.
50 graves uncovered at medieval pilgrimage site in England
50 Graves Uncovered at Medieval Pilgrimage Site in England: The skeletal remains of about 50 medieval individuals have been discovered in shallow graves near the pilgrimage site of a famous seventh-century saint in England.
The human remains, which have been exhumed, may help archaeologists learn more about the medieval era, according to Archaeology Warwickshire, an archaeology and excavation firm. The company plans to study each skeleton to determine its sex and approximate age, and to identify evidence of injuries or diseases preserved in the bones, said Stuart Palmer, the business manager of Archaeology Warwickshire.
The human remains, which have been exhumed, may help archaeologists learn more about the medieval era, according to Archaeology Warwickshire, an archaeology and excavation firm. The company plans to study each skeleton to determine its sex and approximate age, and to identify evidence of injuries or diseases preserved in the bones, said Stuart Palmer, the business manager of Archaeology Warwickshire.
Can the kids wait? Today's youngsters able to delay gratification longer than those of the 1960s
Can the kids wait? Today's youngsters able to delay gratification longer than those of the 1960s: Some 50 years since the original "marshmallow test" in which most preschoolers gobbled up one treat immediately rather than wait several minutes to get two, today's youngsters may be able to delay gratification significantly longer to get that extra reward. This was the key finding of a new study published by the American Psychological Association.
The charm and churches of the Isle of Capri
The Charm and Churches of the Isle of Capri — Helena DailyGRESS: There are few places on earth that have been designated a "resort" for centuries, but the tiny island of Capri can boast that it has been a place for R&R for over two millennia.
Dazzlingly beautiful, the gem of an island of Capri was first popularized by Caesar Augustus in 29 BC, who found the 4 square mile island so enchanting that he bought it. Tiberius was the next Roman ruler to be captivated by the island's aquatic beauty. He built 12 villas on the craggy island, the ruins of which still remain.
Dazzlingly beautiful, the gem of an island of Capri was first popularized by Caesar Augustus in 29 BC, who found the 4 square mile island so enchanting that he bought it. Tiberius was the next Roman ruler to be captivated by the island's aquatic beauty. He built 12 villas on the craggy island, the ruins of which still remain.
Supreme Court protects crisis pregnancy centers from forced speech
Supreme Court Protects Crisis Pregnancy Centers from Forced SpeechSCHNEIDER: In the USA, we have long understood that the first amendment protects people from compelled speech. For most of US history, this protected religious minorities from things their religions forbade: for example allowing the Amish to stop education at the 8th grade, and not forcing Jehovah’s Witnesses to have “Live Free or Die” on their license plates. Now, the same argument means a state can’t compel a pro-life group to offer abortion information. The same logic should also mean artists are never forced to make messages contrary to their beliefs. Robert P. George and Sherif Girgis have argued as much regarding Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop.
These two priests rode a scary roller coaster together — for a good cause
These Two Priests Rode a Scary Roller Coaster Together... for the New Evangelization! | ChurchPOP: Two priests from the diocese of Pittsburgh – one the vocations director, the other a parish priest – made a funny video of them riding a scary roller coaster together. Posted on the diocese’s Facebook page, the video was an advertisement for a “Catholic day” at a local amusement park taking place later this summer.
Pope makes surprise change in structure of College of Cardinals, expands rank of cardinal-bishops
Why cardinals have ranks, and how Pope Francis changed them: Pope Francis made an unexpected change Tuesday in the structure of the College of Cardinals, adding some curial officials to the rank of “cardinal bishops,” the highest rank within the college.
The College of Cardinals is structured in three orders, or ranks: the order of “cardinal deacons,” the order of “cardinal priests,” and the order of “cardinal bishops.”
The College of Cardinals is structured in three orders, or ranks: the order of “cardinal deacons,” the order of “cardinal priests,” and the order of “cardinal bishops.”
In times of harsh political discourse, what do the Scriptures say?
In Times of Harsh Political Discourse, What Do the Scriptures Say? - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: We are in times of strident political protest that includes a lot of harsh language, personal attacks, name calling, and even debased and profane terms. There are tweets, and angry monologues, harsh commentary on news networks, and interruptive press conferences and news interviews that sound more like a brawl than a debate. To put it all more pleasantly, these are times of “colorful” discourse.
After 25 years of being homeless, I learned there’s one simple thing you can do to help
After 25 years of being homeless, I learned there’s one simple thing you can do to help | Gregory P Smith | Books | The Guardian: here are as many pathways to homelessness as there are homeless people in the world. For some, it’s a sudden freefall triggered by a lost job, a broken home life or some other seismic personal upheaval. For others the road to sleeping rough winds down a slow, steady and depressing gradient until it arrives – quite literally – at rock bottom. Tragically, some are even born into it. Many have mental illness to contend with.
Parishioners in Kenya disappointed after priest suspended — for rapping
Parishioners in Kenya disappointed after priest suspended - for rapping - The Dialog: Many parishioners at St. Monica Church in western Kenya are unhappy after their favorite priest was suspended for misconduct by the Diocese of Homa Bay.
Father Paul Ogalo was suspended June 3 for using secular music, drama and dance to attract youths to the church. The 45-year-old priest had been entertaining his parishioners with rap music, urging them to stop using drugs and to get involved in environmental and social justice issues.
Father Paul Ogalo was suspended June 3 for using secular music, drama and dance to attract youths to the church. The 45-year-old priest had been entertaining his parishioners with rap music, urging them to stop using drugs and to get involved in environmental and social justice issues.
Rare video of two eyewitnesses describing Lincoln's assassination 65 years later
New Advent: Rare video of two eyewitnesses describing Lincoln's assassination 65 years later: Interviews with 2 men who witnessed the scene of Abraham Lincoln's assassination in April 1865. These films were taken with early Movietone sound cameras.
Former Irish president says infant Baptism is a violation of human rights
Former Irish President: Infant Baptism Violates Human Rights: Former Irish President Mary McAleese has said that the baptism of infants is a form of coercion and is calling on the Catholic Church to change its practice.
“You can’t impose, really, obligations on people who are only two weeks old, and you can’t say to them at 7 or 8 or 14 or 19, ‘Here is what you contracted; here is what you signed up to’ — because the truth is, they didn’t,” she said in a June 23 interview with The Irish Times.
Baptizing babies, she said, makes “infant conscripts who are held to lifelong obligations of obedience.”
McAleese, Ireland’s president from 1997 to 2011, is a student at Rome’s Gregorian University, pursuing a doctorate in canon law. Her doctoral dissertation criticizes Catholic practices regarding infant baptism, The Irish Times reported.
“You can’t impose, really, obligations on people who are only two weeks old, and you can’t say to them at 7 or 8 or 14 or 19, ‘Here is what you contracted; here is what you signed up to’ — because the truth is, they didn’t,” she said in a June 23 interview with The Irish Times.
Baptizing babies, she said, makes “infant conscripts who are held to lifelong obligations of obedience.”
McAleese, Ireland’s president from 1997 to 2011, is a student at Rome’s Gregorian University, pursuing a doctorate in canon law. Her doctoral dissertation criticizes Catholic practices regarding infant baptism, The Irish Times reported.
Here’s my desert island reading list — what’s yours?
Here’s My Desert Island Reading List — What’s Yours?PEARCE: G. K. Chesterton was once asked what he would most like to have with him if he found himself marooned on a desert island. He replied, somewhat whimsically, that he’d like to have a book on practical shipbuilding. In this, if not in too much else, I’d like to beg to differ with the great man. If I find myself marooned on a desert island, and leaving aside for the sake of the fantasy my anxiety at being separated from my wife and children, I’d like to surround myself with my favorite things and indulge myself in their enjoyment until a ship came (not too soon, I hope) to rescue me.
Your priest is ready to die for you, to protect the seal of Confession
Your Priest is Ready to Die For You, to Protect the Seal of ConfessionLANDRY: One of the least appreciated aspects of the priesthood is the priest’s absolute commitment to keeping sacred and inviolable the seal of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
What this means is that under no circumstances whatsoever will a priest divulge what a particular person told him in Confession. Even if he’s threatened with imprisonment, torture or death. Even if others are about to scourge his mother. Even if someone is destroying his reputation by unjustly accusing him of doing nefarious things in the Confessional or of having committed the very crime that the penitent himself confessed. Even if the only thing a penitent has confessed is impatience at a red light.
What this means is that under no circumstances whatsoever will a priest divulge what a particular person told him in Confession. Even if he’s threatened with imprisonment, torture or death. Even if others are about to scourge his mother. Even if someone is destroying his reputation by unjustly accusing him of doing nefarious things in the Confessional or of having committed the very crime that the penitent himself confessed. Even if the only thing a penitent has confessed is impatience at a red light.
How Pikes Peak Hillclimb times fell by more than 20 percent (to under 8 minutes!) in just 10 years
How Pikes Peak Hillclimb Times Fell by More Than Two Minutes in Just 10 Years: Volkswagen introduced its I.D. electric-car sub-brand to Americans in spectacular fashion: Building a prototype EV for the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb and shattering the overall record at the historic racing event. The battery-powered VW's 7:57.148 time shaved nearly 17 seconds off the standing record, which was set by a gasoline-powered Peugeot with 875 heavily turbocharged horsepower back in 2013.
Supreme Court sides with pro-life pregnancy centers in California abortion case
Supreme Court Sides With Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers in Calif. Abortion Case: The Supreme Court Tuesday blocked a California law requiring pro-life pregnancy centers to post information on programs to obtain a free or low-cost abortion.
The 5-4 ruling in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra sent the case back to a lower court to be reconsidered, in light of the Supreme Court’s finding: “We hold that petitioners are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the FACT Act violates the First Amendment.”
Lower courts had rejected a petition to temporarily block the California law while it was being legally challenged. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the case against the law was unlikely to succeed on its merits.
The 5-4 ruling in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra sent the case back to a lower court to be reconsidered, in light of the Supreme Court’s finding: “We hold that petitioners are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the FACT Act violates the First Amendment.”
Lower courts had rejected a petition to temporarily block the California law while it was being legally challenged. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the case against the law was unlikely to succeed on its merits.
Monday, June 25, 2018
The Fallout, Part One
Whispers in the Loggia: The Fallout, Part OnePALMO: Later this week, eight days after a historic storm cloud broke over the Stateside church, Catholic Washington will gather for the ordination of a new auxiliary of the capital's 750,000-member fold.
The rites coming all of three weeks since Bishop-elect Mike Fisher's appointment – an unusually quick timeframe – while the longtime DC Chancery personnel chief is widely well-regarded as a gentle, low-profile operator, the whole tenor of the moment has changed, the joy of the occasion now overtaken by the sudden elephant in the room.
The rites coming all of three weeks since Bishop-elect Mike Fisher's appointment – an unusually quick timeframe – while the longtime DC Chancery personnel chief is widely well-regarded as a gentle, low-profile operator, the whole tenor of the moment has changed, the joy of the occasion now overtaken by the sudden elephant in the room.
There are many more like McCarrick — and the stories need to be told
Opinion | #MeToo Comes for the Archbishop - The New York TimesDOUTHAT: The first time I ever heard the truth about Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, D.C., finally exposed as a sexual predator years into his retirement, I thought I was listening to a paranoiac rant.
It was the early 2000s, I was attending some earnest panel on religion, and I was accosted by a type who haunts such events — gaunt, intense, with a litany of esoteric grievances. He was a traditionalist Catholic, a figure from the church’s fringes, and he had a lot to say, as I tried to disentangle from him, about corruption in the Catholic clergy. The scandals in Boston had broken, so some of what he said was familiar, but he kept going, into a rant about Cardinal McCarrick: Did you know he makes seminarians sleep with him? Invites them to his beach house, gets in bed with them …
At this I gave him the brushoff that you give the monomaniacal and slipped out.
It was the early 2000s, I was attending some earnest panel on religion, and I was accosted by a type who haunts such events — gaunt, intense, with a litany of esoteric grievances. He was a traditionalist Catholic, a figure from the church’s fringes, and he had a lot to say, as I tried to disentangle from him, about corruption in the Catholic clergy. The scandals in Boston had broken, so some of what he said was familiar, but he kept going, into a rant about Cardinal McCarrick: Did you know he makes seminarians sleep with him? Invites them to his beach house, gets in bed with them …
At this I gave him the brushoff that you give the monomaniacal and slipped out.
Abortionists set their sights on Northern Ireland
Abortionists Target Northern Ireland - Crisis MagazineTURLEY: With the Irish abortion referendum over, a new front opens for the abortion lobby: Northern Ireland.
On June 5, 2018, the British House of Commons had an emergency debate on the issue of abortion provision in Northern Ireland. As it did so, however, it became clear that there is a bigger picture emerging that the media is not reporting, or perhaps choosing not to report. Simply put, if the push for abortion liberalization in Northern Ireland is successful there will also be far-reaching consequences for the rest of the United Kingdom.
First, the obvious: following the referendum result, there have, predictably, been calls, from Sinn Féin, feminist groups, and a wide range of others in the Irish Republic, as well as the Labour Party and other politicians in Britain, for Northern Ireland’s strict abortion laws to be overturned. As pro-abortion campaigners are at pains to stress, Northern Ireland has the harshest criminal penalty for abortion anywhere in Europe. In theory, a sentence of life imprisonment can be handed to any woman who undergoes an unlawful abortion.
On June 5, 2018, the British House of Commons had an emergency debate on the issue of abortion provision in Northern Ireland. As it did so, however, it became clear that there is a bigger picture emerging that the media is not reporting, or perhaps choosing not to report. Simply put, if the push for abortion liberalization in Northern Ireland is successful there will also be far-reaching consequences for the rest of the United Kingdom.
First, the obvious: following the referendum result, there have, predictably, been calls, from Sinn Féin, feminist groups, and a wide range of others in the Irish Republic, as well as the Labour Party and other politicians in Britain, for Northern Ireland’s strict abortion laws to be overturned. As pro-abortion campaigners are at pains to stress, Northern Ireland has the harshest criminal penalty for abortion anywhere in Europe. In theory, a sentence of life imprisonment can be handed to any woman who undergoes an unlawful abortion.
A bibliochaotic encounter with 3 Celtic “M” saints
A Bibliochaotic Encounter with 3 Celtic “M” Saints | God-Haunted LunaticBECKER: “When are we going to get rid of some of these books?” is the complaint I hear from time to time at my house. “We’ll never read them all.” Yes, I know, that’s the point! There will always be something to read, always a new find, always something to surprise and delight.
I hear that complaint a lot, especially from my older kids. They grew up with our bibliochaotic interior decorating scheme, but they’ve come to appreciate that it’s nowhere near normative or typical – that it’s not even an infrequent alternative. Most of their friends don’t live with overflowing bookcases in every room; most families of their acquaintance don’t double-shelve their volumes to accommodate them all. Actually, even the word “most” there is generous. The truth is that their domestic experience of bookish squalor is pretty extraordinary.
I hear that complaint a lot, especially from my older kids. They grew up with our bibliochaotic interior decorating scheme, but they’ve come to appreciate that it’s nowhere near normative or typical – that it’s not even an infrequent alternative. Most of their friends don’t live with overflowing bookcases in every room; most families of their acquaintance don’t double-shelve their volumes to accommodate them all. Actually, even the word “most” there is generous. The truth is that their domestic experience of bookish squalor is pretty extraordinary.
Walgreens pharmacist denies woman medication for ‘medical abortion’
Walgreens Pharmacist Denies Woman With Unviable Pregnancy the Medication Needed to End It - The New York Times: Nine weeks into her pregnancy, Nicole Arteaga got distressing news from her doctor: There was no fetal heartbeat and the pregnancy would end in a miscarriage. Rather than have a surgical procedure to remove the fetal tissue from her uterus, Ms. Arteaga, a first-grade teacher who lives in Peoria, Ariz., decided on Wednesday to take misoprostol, a medication that can be used to end a failed pregnancy.
Where is the dwelling of God?
Where is the Dwelling of God? - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: If we admit God into our heart, suddenly the world lights up with His glory. We become “mystics on the move.” The world is full of God’s glory, and reason alone can conclude the existence of a creator from observing the book of creation, but if we open the door of our heart to God we are struck with wonder and awe, and we see the glory of the Lord as never before and in an ever-deepening way.
Video cameras capture rare footage of the world's biggest pig
Why the World’s Biggest Pig Is in Serious Trouble: At 600 pounds, the giant forest hog may be on average the world’s biggest pig—but it’s also one of the most mysterious.
The bristly black animal with prominent cheeks and sharp tusks likes to avoid people, much to the chagrin of Rafael Reyna-Hurtado, a National Geographic explorer and wildlife ecologist who has been tracking the little-studied species in Uganda.
The bristly black animal with prominent cheeks and sharp tusks likes to avoid people, much to the chagrin of Rafael Reyna-Hurtado, a National Geographic explorer and wildlife ecologist who has been tracking the little-studied species in Uganda.
St. John the Baptist and your gift of prophecy
John the Baptist and Your Gift of ProphecySPENCER: I was born two weeks late during a hot, humid St. Louis summer. My mother, who never complains of physical discomforts, claims that she does not remember being particularly uncomfortable during that time of waiting, but perhaps she just has forgotten. I was stubborn from the beginning. My mother had hoped for a family birth, but I waited to be born until my two older sisters were taken out of the delivery room by my grandmother for a snack.
Meet (and then start praying for) a 10-year-old boy who is being raised as a ‘drag queen’
Meet a 10-Year-Old Boy Who is Being Raised as a ‘Drag Queen’SEGELSTEIN: Viewers of the TODAY show were recently introduced to a young boy who, with the support of his parents, is a self-avowed drag queen, or as he likes to call himself, a “drag kid.”
NBC News Senior National Correspondent Kate Snow was all smiles during her piece about 10-year-old Desmond Napoles, whose social media name is Desmond Is Amazing. During an interview with the fifth-grader, who sports diamond stud earrings, she asks him if he’s transgender (to which he answers no), and whether he identifies as gay (to which he answers yes). “When did you come out,” she asks. “Ever since I was born,” he replies.
During Snow’s interview with Desmond’s parents we learn the backstory. His mother explains that when he was a toddler he would sit in her lap while she watched “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a runway competition for drag queens. He was mesmerized, she says, and eventually started dressing up at home. Snow asks Desmond what it was about watching those drag queens that appealed to him. He thinks it was “how beautiful they were and how amazing they looked,” he tells her. And he thought, “I want to look amazing, too.”
NBC News Senior National Correspondent Kate Snow was all smiles during her piece about 10-year-old Desmond Napoles, whose social media name is Desmond Is Amazing. During an interview with the fifth-grader, who sports diamond stud earrings, she asks him if he’s transgender (to which he answers no), and whether he identifies as gay (to which he answers yes). “When did you come out,” she asks. “Ever since I was born,” he replies.
During Snow’s interview with Desmond’s parents we learn the backstory. His mother explains that when he was a toddler he would sit in her lap while she watched “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a runway competition for drag queens. He was mesmerized, she says, and eventually started dressing up at home. Snow asks Desmond what it was about watching those drag queens that appealed to him. He thinks it was “how beautiful they were and how amazing they looked,” he tells her. And he thought, “I want to look amazing, too.”
Supreme Court returns case of florist who declined same-sex wedding to lower court
Supreme Court Returns Case of Florist Who Declined Same-Sex Wedding to Lower Court: The U.S. Supreme Court Monday vacated a Washington state ruling against local florist Barronelle Stutzman, who in 2013 declined to make flower arrangements for a same-sex wedding.
The U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to the Washington Supreme Court, instructing that the case be reconsidered in light of the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision earlier this month.
In the Masterpiece case, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Christian cake baker Jack Phillips, who had declined to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The Supreme Court ruled that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had shown an impermissible hostility toward religion in its handling of the case.
The U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to the Washington Supreme Court, instructing that the case be reconsidered in light of the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision earlier this month.
In the Masterpiece case, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Christian cake baker Jack Phillips, who had declined to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The Supreme Court ruled that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had shown an impermissible hostility toward religion in its handling of the case.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Pope’s Sunday Angelus: ‘In having children, parents are collaborators of God’
'In Generating Children, Parents Are Collaborators of God,' Says Pope - ZENIT - English: In generating children, parents are collaborators of God.
Pope Francis stressed this during his Angelus address today at noon to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square, as he recalled that today marks the Feast Day of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
St. John’s birth, the Jesuit Pope reminded, is the event that illuminates the lives of his parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah, which they never expected and assumed had become impossible, due to their advanced age.
“These elderly parents had dreamed and even prepared that day, but now they no longer expected it: they felt excluded, humiliated, disappointed: they had no children,” Francis said.
Pope Francis stressed this during his Angelus address today at noon to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square, as he recalled that today marks the Feast Day of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
St. John’s birth, the Jesuit Pope reminded, is the event that illuminates the lives of his parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah, which they never expected and assumed had become impossible, due to their advanced age.
“These elderly parents had dreamed and even prepared that day, but now they no longer expected it: they felt excluded, humiliated, disappointed: they had no children,” Francis said.
Sometimes, a pope just can't help being the pope
Sometimes, a pope just can't help being the popeALLEN: Late this week, news broke of a fairly dramatic papal intervention in an important archdiocese in India. Through the Vatican’s Congregation for Oriental Churches, Pope Francis has essentially decapitated the sitting cardinal there and imposed his own administrator, charging him with getting to the bottom of a mushrooming financial scandal and also dealing with toxic divisions among the clergy.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
4 aspects of the life and ministry of St. John the Baptist
The Mission of St. John the Baptist – A Homily for the Birth of John the Baptist - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: We briefly step out of the “green” of Ordinary Time to celebrate the birth of the last prophet of the Old Testament, St. John the Baptist. In so doing, we not only commemorate a great prophet of history, but we also consider the office of prophet itself, one to which we are summoned by our baptism.
As we consider John the Baptist, we also learn of our own duties as prophets and as those who must be open to the proclamations of those who are appointed prophets to us. Let’s consider four aspects of the life and ministry of St. John the Baptist.
As we consider John the Baptist, we also learn of our own duties as prophets and as those who must be open to the proclamations of those who are appointed prophets to us. Let’s consider four aspects of the life and ministry of St. John the Baptist.
12 facts about WWII Japanese-American internment in the United States
12 Facts About Japanese Internment in the United States | Mental Floss: On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which sanctioned the removal of Japanese immigrants and Americans of Japanese heritage from their homes to be imprisoned in internment camps throughout the country.
At the time, it was sold to the public as a strategic military necessity. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the government argued that it was impossible to know where the loyalties of Japanese-Americans rested.
At the time, it was sold to the public as a strategic military necessity. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the government argued that it was impossible to know where the loyalties of Japanese-Americans rested.
In defense of the book
In Defense of the Book - Cardinal Newman SocietyFITZPATRICK: The quality of education is closely connected to the quality of reading, a thing threatened in the age of screens. The question of book or Nook, of novel or Kindle, of ink or e-ink, is a real question these days. The dichotomy is based upon the difference between the physical and digital experience of reading—and it is a difference that can make all the difference in education.
Despite how individual judgments may lean, screens are by general judgment convenient, and therefore the tablet is the trendy way to read. While its convenience has not statistically caused an increase in reading books, it is making physical books a less common commodity. Of all the endangered things in the modern world, the book seems to be getting rather short shrift.
Despite how individual judgments may lean, screens are by general judgment convenient, and therefore the tablet is the trendy way to read. While its convenience has not statistically caused an increase in reading books, it is making physical books a less common commodity. Of all the endangered things in the modern world, the book seems to be getting rather short shrift.
Abortion vs. Immigration: Don’t take the bait...
Abortion vs. Immigration: Don’t take the bait. | Catholic CultureMIRUS: It is already happening, and it gives us a bad name. Hearing of the widespread denunciation among our bishops of President Trump’s (now discarded) policy to separate children from their migrant parents at the Mexican border, a certain number of Catholics who read CatholicCulture.org are demanding to know where the bishops were when it came time to condemn abortion. Indeed, it seems this is the knee-jerk response of some people whenever their partisan feathers are ruffled.
Please. The American bishops have never been unclear about their condemnation of abortion, nor about their desire to have American law changed to protect life in the womb. Following upon the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, the pro-life movement was initially led by Catholics with the full support of their bishops. The emphasis on the right to life both at the USCCB and in the vast majority of American dioceses has been uncompromising and unremitting. This remains true today.
Please. The American bishops have never been unclear about their condemnation of abortion, nor about their desire to have American law changed to protect life in the womb. Following upon the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, the pro-life movement was initially led by Catholics with the full support of their bishops. The emphasis on the right to life both at the USCCB and in the vast majority of American dioceses has been uncompromising and unremitting. This remains true today.
What Would Mary Write? It’s got a nice ring to it...
Dear Mary – WE'RE LATE FOR CHURCHGERD: My sons were confirmed this May. So, newly sealed and ignited by the Holy Spirit they followed in the apostles’ perilous footsteps by taking on the arduous task of… er, sending out handwritten thank you notes. What an exasperating mission for two perfectly capable, literate, bright students, ages nine and eleven, respectively. And if you think it was tough on their end...
3 useful sacramentals to have in your briefcase or purse
3 Sacramentals to have in your briefcase or purse --AleteiaKOSLOSKI: Sacramentals are meant to enrich our spiritual lives, reminding us of God wherever we are in the world. They have been instituted by the Church to draw us into a deeper relationship with Christ and are focused on sanctifying every part of our lives. Sacramentals are extensions of the seven sacraments and bring the grace of God into everything that we do, whether it be at home, church, or work.
One place we don’t always think to bring sacramentals is in our briefcase or purse, so that they can be used in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. If used in a spirit of faith, sacramentals can protect us (and others) from spiritual harm or inspire us to live a holy life dedicated to God.
One place we don’t always think to bring sacramentals is in our briefcase or purse, so that they can be used in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. If used in a spirit of faith, sacramentals can protect us (and others) from spiritual harm or inspire us to live a holy life dedicated to God.
Ex-president of Ireland says baptism violates human rights, creates "infant conscripts"
Ex-president of Ireland says baptism creates "infant conscripts"COLLINS: Baptizing babies is a violation of their human rights, according to the former president of Ireland.
Mary McAleese, who served in the largely ceremonial role of president from 1997-2011, also said she would not attend the Aug. 22-26 World Meeting of Families taking place in Dublin.
She told the Irish Times the event, which Pope Francis will attend Aug. 25-26, will only serve as a “political rally” for the “reinforcement of orthodoxy.”
McAleese told the newspaper that by baptizing children before they have reached the age of reason, the Church is creating “infant conscripts who are held to lifelong obligations of obedience.”
Mary McAleese, who served in the largely ceremonial role of president from 1997-2011, also said she would not attend the Aug. 22-26 World Meeting of Families taking place in Dublin.
She told the Irish Times the event, which Pope Francis will attend Aug. 25-26, will only serve as a “political rally” for the “reinforcement of orthodoxy.”
McAleese told the newspaper that by baptizing children before they have reached the age of reason, the Church is creating “infant conscripts who are held to lifelong obligations of obedience.”
Jordan Peterson on Cain and Abel
Jordan Peterson on Cain and Abel | Public DiscourseKACZOR: Spurred by social comparison, Cain and Abel represent rival responses to the suffering inherent in the human condition following the rise of self-consciousness. Abel’s suffering leads to his self-development as a warrior. Cain’s suffering leads to envy, malevolence, and murder. This essay explicates and develops Peterson’s interpretation of the story.
Ex-Vatican diplomat found guilty of child porn charges
Ex-Vatican diplomat found guilty of child porn charges: At the close of his civil trial in the Vatican, former Holy See diplomat Msgr. Carlo Alberto Capella was found guilty of possessing and distributing child pornography and given a five-year prison sentence.
The priest was also asked to pay a fine of 5,000 euro. The penitentiary where he will serve his prison term is unknown.
Capella, 51, a former Vatican diplomat, was recalled from the U.S. nunciature in Washington, D.C. last September after the U.S. State Department notified the Vatican of a “possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images” by a diplomat.
The priest was also asked to pay a fine of 5,000 euro. The penitentiary where he will serve his prison term is unknown.
Capella, 51, a former Vatican diplomat, was recalled from the U.S. nunciature in Washington, D.C. last September after the U.S. State Department notified the Vatican of a “possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images” by a diplomat.
Friday, June 22, 2018
Separating immigrant children? Stupid and ugly. The anger it sparked was warranted...
Archbishop Chaput’s Weekly Column: A Great Nation, if we Act Accordingly – Archdiocese of PhiladelphiaCHAPUT: Last month, acting on a new “zero tolerance” White House policy toward immigrants illegally entering the country, the Justice Department determined that all persons detained illegally crossing the border should be prosecuted as criminals. But many undocumented immigrants travel as families. They arrive with children, and a 1997 court decree (the Flores settlement) forbids the detention of minors. Thus, a different government agency (HHS) took charge of the children – totaling about 2,300 — while their parents were readied for deportation. This turned into a media disaster for the administration. On June 20, Trump issued an executive order reuniting children and their families during their processing.
The worst part of this story, however, is that it’s simply the latest chapter in an endless and often hypocritical struggle by both political parties over the details of immigration reform. The wrangling has been going on for many years. And the result is always the same: gridlock and mutual recrimination.
The worst part of this story, however, is that it’s simply the latest chapter in an endless and often hypocritical struggle by both political parties over the details of immigration reform. The wrangling has been going on for many years. And the result is always the same: gridlock and mutual recrimination.
Vatican investigates after receiving ‘hundreds of complaints’ about Memphis bishop’s autocratic style
Vatican investigates complaints about Memphis bishop: The Vatican dispatched two archbishops to Memphis on a fact-finding mission this week related to the leadership of Bishop Martin D. Holley, according to diocesan sources. The visit, called an "Apostolic Visitation," was reported Thursday on a conservative Catholic web site, Churchmilitant.com. Two clergy sources in the Memphis diocese confirmed the inquiry was led by Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta and Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis.
Did whiskey really taste better in the 1800s? We wanted to know, so we ran an experiment...
Bourbon Whiskey Flavor — Jefferson's Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: There’s an old story in the whiskey world: Before trucks and bottling lines, all American whiskey was aged and shipped in barrels, soaking up flavor as it sloshed down the Mississippi River. Eventually, people took a particular liking to the barrels marked “Bourbon County, Kentucky.” They started clamoring for “bourbon.” And that’s how that whole thing got started.
Thoughts on the King of the Jungle and the World Council of Churches
Thoughts on the King of the Jungle and the World Council of ChurchesALLEN: As our colleague Christopher White was on the ground in Geneva on Thursday covering Pope Francis’s visit to the World Council of Churches, Inés San Martín and I were in Rome watching the live stream of the events and trying to provide back-up.
During a morning prayer service, I found myself struck by the wildly different types of Christianity represented in the room, from low-church Protestantism to smells-and-bells Orthodox. I remarked that it was like a spiritual rainforest, with all the various species on display.
During a morning prayer service, I found myself struck by the wildly different types of Christianity represented in the room, from low-church Protestantism to smells-and-bells Orthodox. I remarked that it was like a spiritual rainforest, with all the various species on display.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Birth of a glorious failure: The Nativity of St. John the Baptist
The Sacred Page: Birth of a Glorious Failure: The Nativity of John the BaptistBERGSMA: This Sunday we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, a great saint and biblical character who led a very difficult life and ministry. In hindsight, the conflict that led to his demise and martyrdom has a strangely modern ring to it: he was jailed by Herod Antipas for speaking out on marriage (Mark 6:17-18). Specifically, John the Baptist held to the principle of one man, one woman, for life—a theology of marriage founded in Scripture (Mal. 2:13-16) and reflected in the Essene movement at Qumran (CD 4:19–5:2) and in the teachings of Our Lord (Matt 19:3-12). This got him into trouble with the nation’s chief executive, Herod Antipas, whose own views on marriage had evolved: he had wed Herodias, his divorced ex-sister-in-law, who was also his niece. John the Baptist said the marriage was unlawful. Herod invoked executive privilege to have John arrested and detained for expressing his intolerant views on marriage in public. Eventually, Herod had him beheaded at the request of his wife Herodias’ daughter Salome, who gave a “hot” hip-hop performance for the king and his cabinet that earned her a political favor (Mark 6:14-29).
On papal flight, Francis says intercommunion policy should be decided by diocesan bishops
On papal flight, Francis says intercommunion policy should be decided by diocesan bishops: Pope Francis said Thursday that the German bishops’ debate on the reception of the Eucharist by the non-Catholic spouses of Catholics, also referred to as intercommunion, should be decided by diocesan bishops, rather than bishops’ conferences. Speaking aboard the papal flight from Geneva to Rome June 21, the pope told journalists that the Code of Canon Law leaves decisions about the criteria for intercommunion to diocesan bishops, in order that their decisions will apply only to their individual dioceses, rather than to the Church across an entire country.
How crazy is it to encourage the mentally ill to kill themselves?
Charles Lewis: How crazy is it to encourage the mentally ill to kill themselves? | National PostLEWIS: Two celebrities take their lives, two people who appeared to have everything to live for. Though clearly, Anthony Bourdain, a globetrotting chef for CNN, and Kate Spade, the handbag maker who made millions of people ooh and ah, did not see it that way.
The reaction in the media was predictable: sadness, regret and questions about why. On Sunday, The New York Times ran an information piece for readers who worry that someone close to them might be suicidal. It was called: “What to do When a Loved One is Severely Depressed.”
The reaction in the media was predictable: sadness, regret and questions about why. On Sunday, The New York Times ran an information piece for readers who worry that someone close to them might be suicidal. It was called: “What to do When a Loved One is Severely Depressed.”
If you want to bring Romans 13 into a conversation, read the whole chapter first
Reading Romans 13LOPEZ: The upside of Attorney General Jeff Sessions using Paul’s Letter to the Romans to defend the administration’s policy of family separation at the border was that people might go read the Bible for a moment. Or so was my prayer. He and others were quoting Romans 13 to emphasize the need for people to obey laws. Of course, there were many things wrong with this, not the least being Jeff Sessions himself could probably think of some laws he isn’t as fond of. I think primarily of Roe v. Wade, imposed by the Supreme Court some four decades ago. It’s hard not to think of it for a number of reasons, including the fact that children being taken from their parents isn’t quite consistent with an administration waving a pro-life banner.
How did Cardinal McCarrick’s secret last so long?
How did Cardinal McCarrick’s secret last so long? | Catholic CultureLAWLER: At least fifteen years ago, I wrote a confidential email message to a few trusted friends, telling them to brace themselves. Within a few days, I said, a major secular newspaper would break a sensational story about Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. To my surprise, the newspaper never ran the story—which finally came out today.
As a reporter in Washington, DC, I knew about Cardinal McCarrick but couldn't do anything. Here's why...
The scandal of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and why no major media outed him — GetReligionDUIN: On Election Day 2008, I was not following the historic election of Barack Obama to the presidency.
Instead, I was meeting up with a priest. At the time, I was religion editor for the Washington Times.
The documents he gave me were sensational. At first I thought it was about a priest who’d been forced out of the priesthood because he’d been caught fondling two teen-aged boys. Then I read why the priest had done this. In layman’s terms: He said he was an emotional and spiritual mess after having been sexually assaulted in 1987 by none less than then-Newark Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.
Instead, I was meeting up with a priest. At the time, I was religion editor for the Washington Times.
The documents he gave me were sensational. At first I thought it was about a priest who’d been forced out of the priesthood because he’d been caught fondling two teen-aged boys. Then I read why the priest had done this. In layman’s terms: He said he was an emotional and spiritual mess after having been sexually assaulted in 1987 by none less than then-Newark Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.
Pope flies to Geneva for the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches
Pope in Geneva: Real Ecumenism Puts Christ Over Division: Pope Francis landed in Geneva Thursday for a daytrip aimed at bolstering ecumenical relations, saying off the bat that division among Christians is borne from worldliness, and Christ must be prioritized over any differences that might get in the way of unity. In his first official speech after touching down, the Pope said Christians are called to walk together along the path of the Spirit, which means “rejecting worldliness” and “opting for a mindset of service and growing in forgiveness.”
Pope Francis spoke to participants in an ecumenical prayer gathering during his June 21 visit to Geneva for the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches.
Pope Francis spoke to participants in an ecumenical prayer gathering during his June 21 visit to Geneva for the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches.
Catholic writer Thomas Craughwell, ‘faithful storyteller’, dies at 61
Remembering Thomas Craughwell, Faithful StorytellerThe American Spectator: The American Spectator and I lost a friend with the unexpected death last week of Thomas Craughwell. His death, at age 61, came as a big surprise, and we have no details as to the cause. In fact, the way I learned about Tom’s death shows my surprise: I had just received a copy of his brand new book on heroic military chaplains, for which I had written the foreword. The book turned out beautifully. I simultaneously emailed Tom and his editor to commend them on a job well-done. I even copied a filmmaker suggesting Tom’s book as possible material for a documentary. I then received a quick reply from Tom’s editor sharing the terrible news. He, too, had no details. Nothing has been reported in the press or anywhere beyond the posting at the website of the funeral home.
Cardinal McCarrick: Everybody knew
Cardinal McCarrick: Everybody Knew | The American ConservativeDREHER: Remember how, after Harvey Weinstein was busted as a serial sexual abuser, it emerged that a whole lot of people knew this about Weinstein, but never said anything about it? The same thing is true about Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was outed today (by the Catholic Church) as having sexually abused a minor years ago.
I had never heard that McCarrick abused minors, but I heard from many sources that he would go after seminarians. He had a habit of inviting them to his beach house, and always inviting one more young man than there was bed space for. The unlucky mark had to bunk with the Archbishop, who loved to snuggle.
I had never heard that McCarrick abused minors, but I heard from many sources that he would go after seminarians. He had a habit of inviting them to his beach house, and always inviting one more young man than there was bed space for. The unlucky mark had to bunk with the Archbishop, who loved to snuggle.
On hypocrisy and its cure
On Hypocrisy and its Cure - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: In the Gospel for Wednesday of the 11th Week of the Year, Jesus gives an extended teaching on hypocrisy.
Today we tend reduce the idea of hypocrisy to duplicity. The modern notion is that a hypocrite is someone who says one thing but does another, one who is two-faced or phony. While Jesus’ teaching does not exclude this definition, it is far richer.
The biblical word Jesus used to refer to hypocrites is ὑποκριταί (hypokritai), which literally means “stage actors.” On one level it is easy to see how this word has come to mean people who are phony, for they claim to be what they are not; they are just playing a role. When no one is looking, the hypocrite reverts to his true self, someone quite different.
Today we tend reduce the idea of hypocrisy to duplicity. The modern notion is that a hypocrite is someone who says one thing but does another, one who is two-faced or phony. While Jesus’ teaching does not exclude this definition, it is far richer.
The biblical word Jesus used to refer to hypocrites is ὑποκριταί (hypokritai), which literally means “stage actors.” On one level it is easy to see how this word has come to mean people who are phony, for they claim to be what they are not; they are just playing a role. When no one is looking, the hypocrite reverts to his true self, someone quite different.
Around the world, people have surprisingly modest notions of the 'ideal' life
Around the world, people have surprisingly modest notions of the 'ideal' life: It seems reasonable that people would want to maximize various aspects of life if they were given the opportunity to do so, whether it's the pleasure they feel, how intelligent they are, or how much personal freedom they have. In actuality, people around the world seem to aspire for more moderate levels of these and other traits, according to findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
How poetry can save us in our age of superficiality
How Poetry Can Save Us in Our Age of Superficiality - The Imaginative ConservativeMYERS: It is tempting to decry our age as the worst of times. Anyone who has studied history, however, knows that this complaint is unjust. For all our concern over gun violence, terrorism, and bullying, we pale in comparison to the violence of previous ages: no gladiatorial bloodbaths, very few Viking raids. There is the very real threat of mass violence inherent in our war technologies, but, on the balance, daily life in the developed world is less violent than at any other point in history. If one is inclined to bewail the sexual immorality of our age, one might take a peek behind the curtain of antiquity. We’ve got nothing on the depravity of some of the Greeks and Romans. Is our society unjust? Of course. Is it more just than all that have preceded it in the Western world? Obviously. Most Westerners today are freer, safer, and more prosperous than at any previous point in history. What we aren’t is more thoughtful.
What did the Vatican know about Cardinal McCarrick and when did it know it?
Cardinal McCarrick: What Did the Vatican Know and When?DESMOND: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the retired archbishop of Washington, D.C., was suspended from public ministry on Wednesday, after an allegation that he had sexually abused a minor was found to be credible. According to a statement released by the Archdiocese of New York, McCarrick was accused of abusing a teenage altar boy almost 50 years ago, while serving as a priest in the Archdiocese of New York. The Vatican had directed Cardinal Timothy Dolan to investigate the claim and it was found to be “credible and substantiated.”
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
With a cardinal’s fall, the crisis returns home
Whispers in the Loggia: With A Cardinal's Fall, The Crisis Returns HomePALMO: With the specter of sex-abuse returned to the fore with a vengeance across the Catholic world, the story's mounting American angle has suddenly yielded a historic, shocking development: early Wednesday, the archdiocese of New York announced that the Holy See had removed Cardinal Theodore McCarrick from all public ministry following a 47 year-old allegation of abusing a minor during his days as a priest in the city. By far, the 87 year-old retired archbishop of Washington...
I have been waiting for the Cardinal McCarrick molestation story to break since 2002
Church: Cardinal McCarrick Is A Molester | The American ConservativeDREHER: Back in 2002, I received a tip from a priest who had gone on his own dime to Rome, along with a group of prominent US Catholic laymen, to meet with an official for the Roman Curial congregation that names bishops. It had been rumored at the time that Theodore McCarrick, the Archbishop of Newark, was going to be moved to Washington, DC, and to be made a cardinal. This group traveled to Rome to warn the Vatican that McCarrick was a sexual harrasser of seminarians. The story this priest shared with me was that McCarrick had a habit of compelling seminarians to share his bed for cuddling. These allegations did not involve sexual molestation, but were clearly about unwanted sexual harassment. To refuse the archbishop’s bedtime entreaties would be to risk your future as a priest, I was told.
Were Chris Pratt’s ‘9 rules for living’ on MTV news or not?
Chris Pratt uses MTV as pulpit for his faith: Were his 'nine rules for living' news or not? — GetReligionMATTINGLY: There are many ways to calculate who is a "player" in Hollywood and who is not.
However, Chris Pratt has to near the top of any current list of performers whose name on a marquee will inspire millions of ordinary Americans to shell out cash for movie tickets. Where would Hollywood be, in the summer of 2018, without his clout at the box office?
Now, Pratt made some comments the other day that lit up Twitter, but not conventional news outlets – especially print sources. For me, this raised a variation on an old, old question that I hear all the time from readers: Why are some unusual public statements or events considered news, while others are not?
However, Chris Pratt has to near the top of any current list of performers whose name on a marquee will inspire millions of ordinary Americans to shell out cash for movie tickets. Where would Hollywood be, in the summer of 2018, without his clout at the box office?
Now, Pratt made some comments the other day that lit up Twitter, but not conventional news outlets – especially print sources. For me, this raised a variation on an old, old question that I hear all the time from readers: Why are some unusual public statements or events considered news, while others are not?
Since its debut 20 years ago, ‘Sex and the City’ has been hurting women with its profoundly unrealistic view of the world
Since Its Debut 20 Years Ago, 'Sex And The City' Hurt WomenMERING: This month marks the twenty-year anniversary of the iconic television series “Sex and the City.” With smart writing and fantasy fashion, it’s easy to see why the show was beloved. It featured an irresistible ensemble of women strutting down the street, heads thrown back in laughter, looking forward and looking fabulous, unmoored, but somehow seemingly on course. Carrie Bradshaw was winsome, witty, and chic — imperfect, yet perfectly enviable. In watching her, fans had a sneaking feeling that they might be living the wrong life, and that somewhere bright city days filled with brunches and purses, brownstones and love affairs awaited them.
What is an apostle? (Hint: Pay attention to the boats in the New Testament)
What is an Apostle? (And How it Relates to all the Boat Scenes in the Bible) - Taylor MarshallMARSHALL: Our Lord Jesus Christ founded a New Israel with Himself as Davidic King and with Twelve Apostles initiating the new Twelve Tribes of Israel. This is the Messianic Kingdom of the Church.
As one who connects the Old Testament features to Catholic dogma, I’ve always been painfully aware that the term “apostle” doesn’t have a slick connection to Old Testament kingdom language. In pagan Greek sources, ἀπόστολος (apostolos) refers to a political or military delegate or messenger. ἀπόστολος also refers to the commander of a naval force.
In fact, στόλος refers to a naval division or to a colony. So an ἀπόστολος is one who travels out to these naval colonies. Sometimes ἀπόστολος is used to refer to a formal naval dispatch or to an export license to/from these colonies.
As one who connects the Old Testament features to Catholic dogma, I’ve always been painfully aware that the term “apostle” doesn’t have a slick connection to Old Testament kingdom language. In pagan Greek sources, ἀπόστολος (apostolos) refers to a political or military delegate or messenger. ἀπόστολος also refers to the commander of a naval force.
In fact, στόλος refers to a naval division or to a colony. So an ἀπόστολος is one who travels out to these naval colonies. Sometimes ἀπόστολος is used to refer to a formal naval dispatch or to an export license to/from these colonies.
Cardinal McCarrick investigated for sexual abuse of minor in NY; ‘multiple incidents with adults’ surface in NJ
Prominent Cardinal, Formerly of NY and DC, Found to Have Abused Teen Decades Ago - NBC4 Washington: One of the highest-profile Catholic cardinals in America has been found to have abused a teen decades ago and has been removed from public ministry, the Archdiocese of New York said Wednesday.
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, formerly a priest in New York, a bishop in New Jersey and a cardinal in Washington, "is no longer to exercise publicly his priestly ministry," Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said in a statement.
"The review board found the allegations credible and substantiated," Dolan's statement said. The Diocese of Metuchen, NJ, where McCarrick served from 1982 to 1986, said in a statement that it had no record of his abusing minors -- but that there were multiple incidents with adults.
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, formerly a priest in New York, a bishop in New Jersey and a cardinal in Washington, "is no longer to exercise publicly his priestly ministry," Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said in a statement.
"The review board found the allegations credible and substantiated," Dolan's statement said. The Diocese of Metuchen, NJ, where McCarrick served from 1982 to 1986, said in a statement that it had no record of his abusing minors -- but that there were multiple incidents with adults.
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Pro-choicers erase the child
The Human Life Review Pro-Choicers Erase the Child - The Human Life ReviewMILLS: Most editors would have let it go. The young writer had described a law “allowing abortion up to 12 weeks.” She believed strongly in the right to life, but she was writing with journalistic efficiency, and her editors evaluated her work by a readability score. She used the phrase most journalists would have used.
Short, quick, covered the subject. Except that it didn’t.
Short, quick, covered the subject. Except that it didn’t.
Businesses looking for perceptive thinkers are looking for philosophy majors
Businesses looking for perceptive thinkers are looking for philosophy majors | Commentary | Dallas News: Last month, a philosophy major from the University of Dallas carried his diploma straight from academia to a job in investment banking. He got this job not despite his degree, but because of it. A firm that manages trillions of dollars in assets contacted UD's career office seeking a liberal arts major.
During the Republican presidential debates in 2015, Marco Rubio told America that "we need more welders and less philosophers." But if that's so, why would a major investment bank view a degree in the liberal arts, and in philosophy in particular, as an asset rather than a liability?
During the Republican presidential debates in 2015, Marco Rubio told America that "we need more welders and less philosophers." But if that's so, why would a major investment bank view a degree in the liberal arts, and in philosophy in particular, as an asset rather than a liability?
The Catholic vision of just immigration reform
The Catholic vision of just immigration reformJDFLYNN: A Honduran woman says that federal immigration authorities took her daughter from her arms as she breastfed the child. When she reached out for her daughter, she says she was handcuffed; she stood powerless as her daughter was taken away.
The woman was in a detention center - a jail - in Texas. She was waiting to be prosecuted for illegal entry into the United States.
Her story, if true, is heart-wrenching. It cries out for justice.
Catholics see in every nursing mother an icon of our own mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who nursed the infant Jesus at her breast.
The woman was in a detention center - a jail - in Texas. She was waiting to be prosecuted for illegal entry into the United States.
Her story, if true, is heart-wrenching. It cries out for justice.
Catholics see in every nursing mother an icon of our own mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who nursed the infant Jesus at her breast.
Nun stories are back in the secular news
Nun Stories Back in Secular News — Helena DailyGRESS: After being dismissed as relics of the past, nuns and women religious have been making a social and spiritual come back over the last several decades. While Catholic media has been watching these women closely, the secular media is finally beginning to take note of these remarkable women.
The remarkable tale of starlet actress, Dolores Hart, who left a bright career as the next Grace Kelly to pursue a vocation as a cloistered nun, was recently in the news again. Mother Dolores Hart, now 80, was featured in May in Vogue Magazine.
The remarkable tale of starlet actress, Dolores Hart, who left a bright career as the next Grace Kelly to pursue a vocation as a cloistered nun, was recently in the news again. Mother Dolores Hart, now 80, was featured in May in Vogue Magazine.
Mrs. K’s curtain call: A drama teacher’s life and death at a New Jersey Catholic high school
Mrs. K's curtain call: Life & death of Karin Krenek at Donovan CatholicMULLEN: Three years ago, Karin Krenek, the Donovan Catholic High School drama director, had another of her brilliant ideas idea while planning the December musical, “White Christmas.” Adapted from the 1951 film starring Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Danny Kaye, it’s about a pair of Army buddies-turned-song-and-dance duo who find themselves in rural Vermont, where they discover that their former commanding officer, now retired, is the owner of a quaint old inn on its last legs due to a lack of snow. To help the poor guy out, they put on a holiday extravaganza, attended by the general's former troops.
5 essential elements needed for small groups to thrive in your parish
5 Essential Elements Small Groups Need to Thrive In Your Parish - Catholic Missionary Disciples - College Station, TXLEJEUNE: Disciples make other disciples.
Disciples help other disciples mature.
Programs can be avenues for these things to happen, but they still rise and fall based on people!
Jesus didn't have a program, but he still had a mission, a vision, and a strategy. It is ok to use programs, as long as we are still using the same mission, vision, and strategy of Jesus.
Disciples help other disciples mature.
Programs can be avenues for these things to happen, but they still rise and fall based on people!
Jesus didn't have a program, but he still had a mission, a vision, and a strategy. It is ok to use programs, as long as we are still using the same mission, vision, and strategy of Jesus.
St. Gregory of Nyssa’s amazing explanation for the Holy Eucharist
St. Gregory of Nyssa’s Amazing Explanation for the EucharistBEALE: If the truth of the Eucharist has ever seemed strange to you, that’s because it should.
St. Paul said, “We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness.” The Eucharist is the enduring testament to the reality of the crucifixion of God Incarnate. So it is fitting that the Eucharist is its own stumbling block for some. That bread and wine could be turned into the body and blood and soul and divinity of Christ is certainly foolishness to our hyper-empiricist world.
St. Paul said, “We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness.” The Eucharist is the enduring testament to the reality of the crucifixion of God Incarnate. So it is fitting that the Eucharist is its own stumbling block for some. That bread and wine could be turned into the body and blood and soul and divinity of Christ is certainly foolishness to our hyper-empiricist world.
Meet the Catholic man who invented the World Cup
Meet the Catholic man who invented the World Cup - CNA Blog - CNA Blog: Starting this weekend, an estimated 3.2 billion people the world over will tune in to watch the 2018 World Cup, an international soccer tournament founded by a Catholic man from a small village in France.
Jules Rimet was born on October 14, 1873, in the small village of Theuley in Eastern France to a modest family; his father was a grocer, and when Jules was just 11, they relocated to Paris in search of better work following an economic crisis.
Rimet’s background, as well as his devout Catholic faith, heavily influenced the way he viewed the world. Even after becoming a successful lawyer, Rimet had a heart for the poor, and was inspired by the social teaching of the Church.
Jules Rimet was born on October 14, 1873, in the small village of Theuley in Eastern France to a modest family; his father was a grocer, and when Jules was just 11, they relocated to Paris in search of better work following an economic crisis.
Rimet’s background, as well as his devout Catholic faith, heavily influenced the way he viewed the world. Even after becoming a successful lawyer, Rimet had a heart for the poor, and was inspired by the social teaching of the Church.
The man who went to the North Korean place that ‘doesn’t exist’
The man who went to the North Korean place that ‘doesn’t exist’ - BBC News: It was a visit to Pyongyang's Yanggakdo Hotel that resulted in the detention and eventual death of American student Otto Warmbier. US doctor Calvin Sun recalls his night inside a secret floor in the hotel and warns other travellers to stay away.
Calvin Sun had been awake for almost 24 hours when North Korean guards boarded the minibus that was due to take him and his friends to Pyongyang International Airport and out of the country.
There was an issue, the officials announced. The group would not be allowed to leave until it was resolved.
Calvin Sun had been awake for almost 24 hours when North Korean guards boarded the minibus that was due to take him and his friends to Pyongyang International Airport and out of the country.
There was an issue, the officials announced. The group would not be allowed to leave until it was resolved.
Chris Pratt boldly professes ‘God is real, God loves you’ at MTV Movie Awards
Chris Pratt boldly professes "God is real, God loves you" at MTV Movie Awards --Aleteia: Chris Pratt is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood right now, receiving much attention for his comedic performances in Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War and his lead role in the new Jurassic World series of movies. He is also one of the most outspoken actors, never afraid to share his Christian faith in public.
Questions on sexuality loom large in newly-released ‘instrumentum laboris’ for youth synod
Questions on Sexuality Loom Large Ahead of Youth Synod: According to the official working document for the upcoming synod of bishops on youth, the major questions for young people ahead of the October discussion surround issues of sexuality and gender, the role of women and the desire for a Church that knows how to listen.
The instrumentum laboris for the Oct. 3-28 Synod of Bishops on “Young People, the Faith and the Discernment of Vocation,” was published June 19, and includes contributions from both young people themselves, and bishops’ conferences.
Key issues highlighted in the document are not only increasing cultural instability and violent conflicts, but many young people, both inside and outside of the Church, are divided when it comes to topics related to sexuality.
The instrumentum laboris for the Oct. 3-28 Synod of Bishops on “Young People, the Faith and the Discernment of Vocation,” was published June 19, and includes contributions from both young people themselves, and bishops’ conferences.
Key issues highlighted in the document are not only increasing cultural instability and violent conflicts, but many young people, both inside and outside of the Church, are divided when it comes to topics related to sexuality.
Mark Twain claimed he got his pen name from a riverboat captain. He may have actually gotten it in a saloon...
Mark Twain's Real Name: How Samuel Clemens Picked a Pen Name | Time: Powerful gravity drew young men west during the Civil War, especially after the armies began drafting to fill their ranks. One of the thousands who traveled “the plains across” was an obscure Missourian named Samuel Langhorne Clemens who had spent a few weeks riding with a band of Confederate irregulars. Despite Sam’s mild secessionist sympathies, his older brother Orion Clemens had campaigned for Abraham Lincoln. As reward, the new president appointed Orion secretary of the Nevada Territory, then in the throes of a mining frenzy centered on the Comstock Lode beneath booming Virginia City, the largest town in the territory. Sam went west with his brother on the overland stage in the late summer of 1861, there being, as his first great biographer wryly observed, “no place in the active Middle West just then for an officer of either army who had voluntarily retired from service.”
Fix me, Jesus, fix me – 3 reasons why even our spiritual life needs fixing
Fix Me, Jesus; Fix Me – Three Reasons Why Even Our Spiritual Life Needs Fixing - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: When I was a good bit younger, in college actually, I had to take a few economics and marketing courses. At that time I thought to myself, “God has a bad marketing department,” since things like Scripture and prayer were often so difficult to understand and do. God seemed to insist that we pray, but everyone I ever asked admitted that prayer was difficult. And while many had reasons they offered as to why prayer was difficult, I still wondered why, if God could just zap prayer and make it delightful, He didn’t just do so. “Yes,” I thought, “God has a bad marketing plan!”
The enduring mystery of the Ghent Altarpiece, the world's most-stolen painting
The Enduring Mystery of the Ghent Altarpiece, the World's Most-Stolen Painting | Mental Floss: Oscar van Bouchaute watched nervously as hundreds of strangers trampled over the crime scene inside Saint Bavo’s Cathedral.
Earlier that day, on the morning of April 11, 1934, van Bouchaute—a church steward—had stepped off the cobblestoned streets of Ghent, Belgium, and into the cathedral to begin his daily rounds. He lit candles, rang the bells, and unlocked doors to prepare for the morning service. He was surprised, however, to find that one parishioner had already made her way inside the church. Somebody, he realized, had left a door open overnight.
Earlier that day, on the morning of April 11, 1934, van Bouchaute—a church steward—had stepped off the cobblestoned streets of Ghent, Belgium, and into the cathedral to begin his daily rounds. He lit candles, rang the bells, and unlocked doors to prepare for the morning service. He was surprised, however, to find that one parishioner had already made her way inside the church. Somebody, he realized, had left a door open overnight.
‘He must decrease that I might increase’ — Yoga inflates your ego, say researchers
Yoga and meditation boost your ego, say psychology researchers — Quartz: According to Buddhist teaching, the self is an illusion. The religion preaches a fundamentally selfless worldview, encouraging followers to renounce individual desires and distance themselves from self-concern. To advance this perspective, millions of people around the world practice yoga and meditation.
This soon-to-be-beatified daughter of a Spanish Civil War victim became instrumental for Opus Dei
This daughter of a Spanish Civil War victim became instrumental for Opus Dei: On December 12, 1916, in Madrid, Spain, the fourth child and only daughter of Manuel Ortiz-Landazuri and Eulogia Fernandez-Heredia was born. Since it was the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, her parents named her Maria Guadalupe, bestowing a great blessing on their child.
The first truly painful experience for her was when her older brother, Francisco, passed away. She was just a child, and she did not fully understand what had happened. Then, when she was 10 years old, she and her family moved to Tetouan, North Africa, where her father had taken a new job. Even as a pre-teenaged girl she possessed two character traits that stood out: courage and boldness. She was not easily intimidated, and she quietly spoke her mind.
The first truly painful experience for her was when her older brother, Francisco, passed away. She was just a child, and she did not fully understand what had happened. Then, when she was 10 years old, she and her family moved to Tetouan, North Africa, where her father had taken a new job. Even as a pre-teenaged girl she possessed two character traits that stood out: courage and boldness. She was not easily intimidated, and she quietly spoke her mind.
Monday, June 18, 2018
Before the current ‘Dixie cups,’ U.S. Navy sailors liked the distinctive ‘flat hat’ and wore it for 111 years
Sailors Liked the "Flat Hat" and Wore It for 111 Years | Defense Media Network: It might appear a bit odd today, but the dark blue “flat hat” of the past still evokes fond memories among sailors and is very much a part of U.S. Navy tradition.
Easy to recognize is the more familiar white hat, nicknamed the “Dixie cup hat,” but the distinctive “flat hat” came first, and was standard issue for more than a century.
Easy to recognize is the more familiar white hat, nicknamed the “Dixie cup hat,” but the distinctive “flat hat” came first, and was standard issue for more than a century.
Easy to recognize is the more familiar white hat, nicknamed the “Dixie cup hat,” but the distinctive “flat hat” came first, and was standard issue for more than a century.
Easy to recognize is the more familiar white hat, nicknamed the “Dixie cup hat,” but the distinctive “flat hat” came first, and was standard issue for more than a century.
Flagging down America's last ‘request stop’ train in Alaska
Hurricane Turn: Flagging Down America's Last "Request Stop" Train in Alaska - 99% Invisible: Connecting Hurricane Gulch and Talkeetna (a remote stretch of the Alaska Railroad between Fairbanks and Anchorage), Hurricane Turn may be the only remaining true “flag stop” passenger train in the U.S., braking only where needed to pick up or drop off riders.
Canada’s Supreme Court rejects country’s only Christian law school over its LGBT stance
Canada’s Supreme Court Rejects Country’s Only Christian Law School | News & Reporting | Christianity Today: Trinity Western University has lost a years-long legal fight to launch what would be the only Christian law school in Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada considered a pair of appeals cases involving regional law societies that refused to accredit the Trinity Western program due to the evangelical institution’s student covenant, which prohibits sex outside of traditional marriage.
Does Jesus forbid self-defense?
Does Jesus Forbid Self-Defense? - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: In daily Mass for Monday of the 11th Week of the Year, we read a passage from the Sermon on the Mount. It is a challenging text that raises many questions if read in a literal or absolute manner. It seems to preclude self-defense. What does it mean to “offer no resistance to one who is evil”? Jesus does not say that one should not defend oneself if attacked; He says that one should turn the other cheek. Is this a call to radical pacifism? Does this mean that a nation should have no police force, no judicial system, no army? So radical does this text seem to most that they are overwhelmed and simply turn the page.
7 of the world's wackiest interchanges and intersections
7 of the World's Wackiest Interchanges and Intersections: Normally, the basic rules of the road are enough to keep traffic in order, but sometimes sheer volume means that things get a little messy. Other times, anarchy rules the day. Here are seven of the world’s wackiest interchanges and intersections, all from the comfort and safety of your screen, where there's no risk of a fender bender.
The 18 best pocket and folding knives for everyday use
18 Best Pocket Knives and Pocket Knife Brands for Everyday Use: There are plenty of good reasons to carry a pocket knife with you everywhere (except the airport), and there also plenty of quality knives to choose from. If you're looking for an everyday carry, we have some suggestions for you to consider. They run the gamut from the super-cheap to the somewhat pricey (but worth the investment).
Let’s double down on love — at the beginning of life and at the border
Donald Trump & the Pro-Life Cause: Keeping Promises | National ReviewLOPEZ: There’s long been what friends of mine have fairly called a “lazy slander” against pro-lifers, that we cease to care about a mother and her child after the baby is born. But that ceases to be a slander and becomes a challenge to meet when headlines talk about mothers being separated from their children at the border. Even when it’s a slander, some people believe it, and that’s in no small part what keeps them from being persuaded to join the fight against abortion. And can you blame them when a president who describes himself as pro-life, and who is heralded as such, is also overseeing an administration that has doubled down on “zero tolerance” and family separation at the border? And so we have headlines about an infant who is taken away from a breastfeeding mother.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Why this Baptist’s favorite place to pray is his local Catholic parish church
Why This Baptist's Favorite Place to Pray is His Local Catholic Parish Church | ChurchPOP: As a Baptist, I watch people in airports, in restaurants, in the mall… and in church. I wish I could focus on God in church, but I just can’t when there are people around.
So there have been times that I have needed to find a church with no people inside to pray. In today’s world, that is not an easy task. I just Googled, “Why do churches lock their doors,” and I found quite a few reasons. It is nothing but common sense I guess: robberies, homeless people, vandalism, etc.
So there have been times that I have needed to find a church with no people inside to pray. In today’s world, that is not an easy task. I just Googled, “Why do churches lock their doors,” and I found quite a few reasons. It is nothing but common sense I guess: robberies, homeless people, vandalism, etc.
Fathers' letters full of love and wisdom
Fathers' Letters Full of Love and Wisdom — Helena Daily: Father's Day is a great time to think about the remarkable gifts that fathers impart to their children. Some of their wisdom and love comes down to us through letters that have been written back and forth between fathers and sons, or fathers and daughters. Here are excerpts of famous letters that remind us of the beautiful and timeless bond between father and child.
The summery gift of ‘The Snowman’
The Summery Gift of ‘The Snowman’ | God-Haunted LunaticBECKER: Now that the thermometer has popped into the nineties a couple times, it’s summer. Forget the calendar. There’s sunshine and languid afternoons and a blessed freedom to do nothing, to expect nothing. It’s an ideal moment for a tribute to Raymond Briggs’s exquisite picture book, The Snowman (1978).
And when I say picture book, I mean picture book, for Briggs tells an emotionally rich tale without a single word. It’s the tale of a boy and his snowman – their friendship and adventures – and it’s related through a series of deceptively simple drawings. Despite their plainness and subdued colors, those drawings convey a narrative depth that is profoundly moving, and they subtly induce the reader to concoct and supply the missing dialogue – either silently in our heads or, as you’d find with your youngest readers, out loud. It’s a turnabout from what usually happens with storytelling, where words come first and mental images follow. To enter the world of The Snowman is to enter a world in which words are blessedly optional – a rare treat in our noisy age.
And when I say picture book, I mean picture book, for Briggs tells an emotionally rich tale without a single word. It’s the tale of a boy and his snowman – their friendship and adventures – and it’s related through a series of deceptively simple drawings. Despite their plainness and subdued colors, those drawings convey a narrative depth that is profoundly moving, and they subtly induce the reader to concoct and supply the missing dialogue – either silently in our heads or, as you’d find with your youngest readers, out loud. It’s a turnabout from what usually happens with storytelling, where words come first and mental images follow. To enter the world of The Snowman is to enter a world in which words are blessedly optional – a rare treat in our noisy age.
Pope’s Sunday Angelus: ‘We need the courage of trust and the humility of abandonment to God’
Pope Francis: God works in mysterious ways – trust him: On Sunday Pope Francis compared the action of grace to the growth of seeds planted in a garden, saying God often works in ways that are both unknown and surprising, but which always bring fruit, and because of this it is important to always trust and never lose faith.
In his June 17 Angelus address, the pope noted that if one looks back at history, it can seem like the world is going “in an opposite direction to the design of the heavenly Father, who wants justice, brotherhood and peace for all of his children.”
In his June 17 Angelus address, the pope noted that if one looks back at history, it can seem like the world is going “in an opposite direction to the design of the heavenly Father, who wants justice, brotherhood and peace for all of his children.”
Saturday, June 16, 2018
If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me
If You Can Use Anything Lord, You Can Use Me - A Homily for the 11th Sunday of the Year - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: The readings for this Sunday speak of God’s providence, which is often displayed in humble, hidden, and mysterious ways. While it is true that God sometimes works in overpowering ways, His more common method seems to be using the humble and even unlikely things of the created order to accomplish His goals.
For us who are disciples, there are three related teachings given to us that speak of how God will make use of us and others. It is also good to link these teaching to Father’s Day, which occurs this weekend here in the U.S. These three teachings can be described as Adaptability, “Awe-Ability,” and Accountability.
For us who are disciples, there are three related teachings given to us that speak of how God will make use of us and others. It is also good to link these teaching to Father’s Day, which occurs this weekend here in the U.S. These three teachings can be described as Adaptability, “Awe-Ability,” and Accountability.
This supercomputer can calculate in 1 second what would take you 6 billion years
This Supercomputer Can Calculate in 1 Second What Would Take You 6 Billion Years: It's shiny, fast and ultrapowerful. But it's not the latest Alpha Romeo. A physics laboratory in Tennessee just unveiled Summit, likely to be named the world's speediest and smartest supercomputer.
Perhaps most exciting for the U.S.? It's faster than China's.
The supercomputer — which fills a server room the size of two tennis courts — can spit out answers to 200 quadrillion (or 200 with 15 zeros) calculations per second, or 200 petaflops, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the supercomputer resides.
Perhaps most exciting for the U.S.? It's faster than China's.
The supercomputer — which fills a server room the size of two tennis courts — can spit out answers to 200 quadrillion (or 200 with 15 zeros) calculations per second, or 200 petaflops, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the supercomputer resides.
Archaeological evidence of Pontius Pilate and his station corroborates Gospel
Archaeological evidence of Pontius Pilate and his station corroborates Gospel: Of course we all know of Pontius Pilate and his sordid role in the Passion of Christ. However, very little of the man is known besides his arbitration of the trial of Christ. We know he was the Roman prefect who ruled over Judea during the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14-37 AD), but aside from his presence in the Gospels, a few brief references from Roman historians, and a smattering of coins purportedly minted by the prefect, there is very little evidence that Pilate existed at all.
‘Incredibles 2’ recalls (but doesn't quite recapture) the brilliance of the original
SDG Reviews ‘Incredibles 2’GREYDANUS: As The Incredibles in its day towered over the Hollywood animation landscape of the last decade, so in some measure does Incredibles 2 in this decade — but what a different and diminished landscape it is today.
Those were Pixar’s glory days, but not only Pixar. DreamWorks looked like serious competition for Disney back then, from Shrek to Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. I’m even a fan of Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.
DreamWorks also partnered with Aardman Animations on Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit: Search for the Were-Rabbit. Laika burst on the scene with the darkly dazzling Coraline. Stop-motion animation was commercially viable in the ’00s.
Those were Pixar’s glory days, but not only Pixar. DreamWorks looked like serious competition for Disney back then, from Shrek to Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. I’m even a fan of Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.
DreamWorks also partnered with Aardman Animations on Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit: Search for the Were-Rabbit. Laika burst on the scene with the darkly dazzling Coraline. Stop-motion animation was commercially viable in the ’00s.
Liberal media’s freaky Father’s Day
Liberal Media’s Freaky Father’s Day | The American ConservativeDREHER: Don’t dare think that this stuff doesn’t matter. This is how what was once unacceptable becomes acceptable: by constant favorable media attention. The media have the fervor and righteousness of evangelists. You will recall my telling you of my experiences in professional journalism circles regarding LGBT issues: journalists openly saying there is no legitimate “other side to the story.” It’s not even a matter of unconscious bias.
The real Tag brothers’ story is better than the movie
The Real Tag Brothers’ Story Is Better Than the MovieHOOPES: The movie Tag, in theaters June 15, may not be worth watching, but the story it is based on is well worth hearing.
The movie is a raunchy take on a very sweet tale. It’s about Father Sean Raftis and nine childhood friends who have played an elaborate, coast-to-coast game of tag for nearly 30 years, a game that has meant that, every February since the 1990s, “You’re like a deer or elk in hunting season if you’re not It. If you’re It, you’re like a spy in the Cold War.”
More importantly, “In this culture where value is placed on things,” he told me, “we were always taught that people are ends in themselves, and to have one friend is a gift from God. Through this game, I’ve gotten to be a part of these men’s lives.”
The movie is a raunchy take on a very sweet tale. It’s about Father Sean Raftis and nine childhood friends who have played an elaborate, coast-to-coast game of tag for nearly 30 years, a game that has meant that, every February since the 1990s, “You’re like a deer or elk in hunting season if you’re not It. If you’re It, you’re like a spy in the Cold War.”
More importantly, “In this culture where value is placed on things,” he told me, “we were always taught that people are ends in themselves, and to have one friend is a gift from God. Through this game, I’ve gotten to be a part of these men’s lives.”
Archdiocese of New York to appeal court decision to move Archbishop Sheen’s body
New York Archdiocese Will Appeal Court Decision to Move Sheen’s Body: The Archdiocese of New York announced on Friday that the Trustees of St. Patrick’s Cathedral are appealing a court decision that would allow Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s body to be moved to Peoria, Illinois, as his cause for beatification proceeds.
The trustees, who oversee archdiocesan seminaries, “believe that the recent court case concerning the earthly remains of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was again incorrectly decided, and will seek an appeal of that decision along with a stay on moving the remains while the appellate court considers the case,” said a June 15 statement.
“At issue in the case, as the appellate court noted in its reversal of the trial court’s original decision, is what were Archbishop’s Sheen’s personal wishes concerning his final resting place,” the statement said.
The trustees, who oversee archdiocesan seminaries, “believe that the recent court case concerning the earthly remains of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was again incorrectly decided, and will seek an appeal of that decision along with a stay on moving the remains while the appellate court considers the case,” said a June 15 statement.
“At issue in the case, as the appellate court noted in its reversal of the trial court’s original decision, is what were Archbishop’s Sheen’s personal wishes concerning his final resting place,” the statement said.
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