This has all the makings of a Hallmark channel movie-of-the-week. From the Los Angeles Times: It was the summer of ’72 when 13-year-old Tim Taylor reached the summit in the Sierra Nevada outback. Inspired, he wrote a note — “please write” — and tucked it into a metal film canister that he left on the 12,000-foot peak. Four decades later, a 69-year-old grandfather on an 11-day trek with his son and grandson came across the canister, rusted and now nearly the color... Read more
This is huge. Not too long ago, it would have been unthinkable. From the Vatican news site: Beginning on Wednesday 10 October, during the Holy Father’s weekly general audience, an Arabic speaker will join the other speakers who provide a summary of the papal catechises in various different languages. In this way, in the wake of his recent trip to Lebanon and the publication of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Ecclesia in Medio Oriente”, the Holy Father intends to express his... Read more
It’s happening in Russia. Details, from the Hollywood Reporter: Tom Hanks is to appear on posters promoting Orthodox Christianity in Russia and neighboring states alongside prominent local cultural and sports figures. The Russian Orthodox youth movement Soboryane said it is launching a massive poster campaign during a missionary event entitled “My Pravoslavnye” (“We Are Orthodox Christians”) on October 13 and 14 in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Posters depicting high-profile personalities, including Hanks, and featuring quotes from them in support of... Read more
What a remarkable life. Details, from the News & Observer in North Carolina: The son of an Episcopalian minister, there were many ways Monsignor Thomas Hadden could have chosen to stand apart from his family, but his father did not protest when 12-year-old Hadden decided to convert to Catholicism. “He was very determined,” said Monsignor Gerald Lewis, a priest in New Bern who knew Hadden for more than 50 years. Hadden, a Raleigh native and the state’s most prominent African-American... Read more
So, the way to deal with rebellious children is to threaten them with the death penalty, and the way to deal with homelessness is to get rid of charities. The world has officially lost its collective mind. Details: Looking to cut down on homeless services in Costa Mesa, Mayor Eric Bever has asked the city to investigate some of the city’s most prominent and long-running charities. Bever singled out Share Our Selves and Someone Cares Soup Kitchen, decades-old nonprofits that... Read more
This comes from the blog of the new bishop of Tyler, Texas, Joseph Strickland. And it’s a keeper: If you read this and you’re not a priest, please pass it on to all the priests you know. If you are a priest, please receive it as a small expression of thanks for all you do and pass it on to a brother who may need a boost. A Catholic priest is a man of God but shares all the hopes,... Read more
Seriously. What next? Eating them? Details, from the Arkansas Times: Remember former Republican legislator Charlie Fuqua, running again for legislature with financial support from the Arkansas Republican Party and U.S. Reps. Tim Griffin and Steve Womack, among others? We’ve mentioned some excerpts from his book, “God’s Law: The Only Political Solution.” I have more for you today. To save space, I’ve omitted the Biblical citation for Fuqua’s endorsement of the death penalty for rebellious children. Fuqua doesn’t think execution would... Read more
H/T to Elizabeth Scalia for this one. From Deadspin.com: Ohio State smoked Nebraska 63-38 yesterday before 106,102 fans, which is apparently an Ohio Stadium record. The fans who stayed in their seats for the halftime show were treated to a medley of old-and-new-school video game themes and characters. Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Tetris and Halo were just a few of the games featured. Read more
Well, just ask some folks who do it — and TJ Burdick did. The results have now been published in a nifty little e-book called “One Body, Many Blogs,” available at Amazon at this link. As the publisher explains: One Body, Many Blogs is a collection of answers from some of the giants of the Catholic blogosphere to the following question: In your opinion, what are the “ten commandments” that Christian bloggers should keep in mind while pressing on in... Read more
This is a pretty big deal—and a shot in the arm for the pro-life cause: John B. Gurdon of the U.K. and Shinya Yamanaka of Japan shared this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in so-called cellular reprogramming, which has unleashed a wave of advances in everything from cloning to the possible treatment of diseases using stem cells. The researchers’ experiments showed how specialized, mature cells could be returned to a embryonic-like state, and then be... Read more
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