Haiti’s hope: two years after quake, plans for new cathedral

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: The winner of the design competition for the new Cathédrale Notre Dame de l’Assomption in Port-au-Prince, Haiti was unveiled today. The winning design was selected from among 134 entrants who submitted proposals for the replacement the former cathedral, which was destroyed in the 2012 Haiti earthquake. Segundo Cardona and a team of six other architects from Puerto Rico submitted the winning design. The façade of the original cathedral is integrated into the new design and serves as the entry point... Read more

Shared grief: the Amish and the parents of Newtown

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The horrific story of the Amish shooting in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania in 2006 was on my mind this week. The people of Nickel Mines understand, perhaps better than anyone, what the families are facing in Newtown. I remembered that the Amish responded to their grief with astonishing grace and mercy—reaching out to forgive what would seem, to many, unforgivable: The tragic schoolhouse shooting of ten Amish girls at Nickel Mines in Southern Lancaster County stunned the world. What was even... Read more

Pray for this priest…

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

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You’ve seen his picture, the young man in the middle shown here, next to Newtown’s Msgr. Weiss. Now, hear his story: (H/T Mark Shea and Tom Crowe) The following comes from the priest’s sister: My friends, All of you, I am sure, have heard so much about the tragedy in Newtown, CT. Many of you have received emails from me about my younger brother, Father Luke Suarez, who is a priest at St. Rose of Lima parish, a Catholic church... Read more

How Charles Dickens saved Christmas

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The story behind the most famous Christmas story since the Nativity, from the Capitol Hill Times: When Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” in 1842, the holiday was nearly dead in modern England. Christmas was celebrated by the rural and poor, but frowned upon by employers. It took an American, Washington Irving, to praise Christmas to the highest, mourning the loss of the great traditions in this new modern age. Dickens admired Irving. In earlier writings, such as “Sketches by... Read more

Catholics take over America

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Trivia buffs, take note: If Senator John Kerry is nominated and confirmed to be Secretary of State, the four offices in line of succession to the presidency will all be held by Catholics: Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker John Boehner, Senator Leahy, and Secretary Kerry. Dave Gibson has more context, too, at dotCommonweal. Read more

Shock: Arkansas seminarian killed in car accident

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This is heartbreaking news, just before Christmas, from the Arkansas Catholic: First-year seminarian Daniel Phillips was killed in a car wreck Dec. 18 near Danville. Son of John and Catherine Phillips, he graduated from high school in May and entered Holy Trinity Seminary near Dallas in August. He was 19. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Booneville (Logan County), where his mother is the director of religious education. About 3 p.m., Phillips was driving west on Highway... Read more

How many deacons can say they’re married to a Supreme Court judge?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:51 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Next year, God willing, there will be at least one who can. An Indiana deacon dropped me the following e-mail: I thought you might be interested to know that on Friday the 28th, the wife of a deacon in formation in the Lafayette-in-Indiana diocese will be formally elevated to the Indiana Supreme Court. (She actually took the oath of office in November but the formal ceremony is 12/28.) Her name is Loretta Rush. Her husband, the deacon candidate, is Jim Rush. I believe he is in his last... Read more

“When you’re worried, and you can’t sleep…”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

…count your blessings, instead of sheep…” Herewith, one of my favorite songs for the holidays—which really isn’t a Christmas carol, or a hymn, and it doesn’t even mention the season. But it never fails to strike a chord and say to me, “Christmas.” It comes, of course, from the 1954 film “White Christmas,” which they’ve re-aired about 372 times since Thanksgiving on AMC, and I’m more than happy to put up with the yellow socks and flared skirts and kitschy... Read more

Guess who else is facing a vocation shortage?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Buddhists: BAAN PA CHI, Thailand — The monks of this northern Thai village no longer perform one of the defining rituals of Buddhism, the early-morning walk through the community to collect food. Instead, the temple’s abbot dials a local restaurant and has takeout delivered. “Most of the time, I stay inside,” said the abbot, Phra Nipan Marawichayo, who is one of only two monks living in what was once a thriving temple. “Values have changed with time.” The gilded roofs... Read more

Report: Obamacare could drive religious order out of the U.S.

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details, from the Daily Caller: A religious order of nuns is concerned about its future presence in the United States because of Obamacare’s impact on its charitable operations. The Little Sisters of the Poor told The Daily Caller that it may not qualify for a long-term exemption from Obamacare’s healthcare mandate. The law requires the order to provide government-approved health insurance to its 300 sisters who tend to the elderly in 30 U.S. cities. The exception is needed, said Sister Constance Carolyn Veit, the... Read more