Using social media to boost vocations

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Hot on the heels of Pope Benedict’s announced theme for the next World Communications Day comes this encouraging piece of news, from Catholic News Service: Several religious congregations and organizations are taking advantage of social media to “introduce” individuals discerning a call to a vocation and the seminary, convent or monastery that fits them. With more than 1,400 likes on Facebook, the National Religious Vocation Conference takes full advantage of social networking, through its Vision Vocation Guide and other outlets.... Read more

So what did the New York Times have to say about the debate?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the lead editorial in this morning’s edition: The first debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney, so long anticipated, quickly sunk into an unenlightening recitation of tired talking points and mendacity. With few sparks and little clarity on the immense gulf that truly separates the two men and their policies,Wednesday’s encounter provided little guidance for voters still trying to understand the choice in next month’s election. Translation: our guy lost. More insightful was the TV review of the proceedings by Alessandra... Read more

Pope Benedict on Mary, “Mother of the ‘Yes'”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

“Dear brothers and sisters, on this pilgrimage in the footsteps of Blessed John XXIII – and which comes, providentially, on the day in which the Church remembers Saint Francis of Assisi, a veritable ‘living Gospel’ – I wish to entrust to the Most Holy Mother of God all the difficulties affecting our world as it seeks serenity and peace, the problems of the many families who look anxiously to the future, the aspirations of young people at the start of... Read more

St. Francis, deacon: “We ought to be servants…”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

“Let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. Men lose all the material things they leave behind them in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve. We must not... Read more

Some good advice for watching the debate tonight

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the legendary Newton Minnow, who knows a thing or two about television and debates, in today’s New York Times: The debates are an institution now, and among the most watched television events in America. They are one place in the modern campaign — perhaps the only place — where the voter is treated with respect. They are the one time when the major candidates appear together side by side under conditions they do not control. They are a relief... Read more

Another Catholic newspaper folds

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The Diocese of Rockville Centre has made official what had been rumored for some months: the Long Island Catholic weekly newspaper is being converted into a monthly magazine. From the paper’s website: On October 2, 2012, Bishop William Murphy announced that The Long Island Catholic is changing formats from a newspaper to a magazine model. Sean Dolan, director of communications for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, is overseeing the transition to the new model. According to Dolan, many newspapers reach the point where... Read more

Pope Benedict: “Religious freedom is the pinnacle of all other freedoms”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This morning, I attended a staff meeting where we spent over three hours dissecting and reflecting on parts of Pope Benedict’s recent apostolic exhortation delivered in Lebanon. Many Catholics, I suspect, haven’t read it, or read it closely. But in the course of just 100 paragraphs, The Holy Father presents some challenging and timely themes that have special resonance in the Middle East, but also speak eloquently to people of faith everywhere. (If you want a preview of his reported... Read more

What the media doesn’t “get” about the Catholic Church

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Well, there are a lot of things. But here’s one take, from the great Sister Mary Ann Walsh of the USCCB, who offers some important distinctions about the media, balance, and covering the Catholic Church: Margaret Sullivan now wears the public editor hat at The New York Times and with a recent ombudsman column took on a huge media problem: False balance aka false equivalency. False balance reports are those that appear fair because they have two sides, except that one side reflects neither knowledge... Read more

“Faith opens our eyes to human life in all its grandeur and beauty”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

That’s the theme for this year’s Respect Life month, October. Details: During October, designated each year as Respect Life Month by the U.S. Catholic Church, Catholics should “renew their personal commitment to defend all human life, especially the most vulnerable members of the human family,” said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. “By our unflinching defense of human life and religious freedom, by our witness to the transcendent nature of the human person, and by our... Read more

NFL’s Man of the Year, Matt Birk of the Ravens, speaks out against gay marriage

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The story, from the Baltimore Sun: Ravens center Matt Birk is expected to film a video this week opposing Maryland’s new same-sex marriage law, making him the second player on the team to take a public stand on the referendum. Birk, a Roman Catholic and father of six, is pressing a view opposite that of teammate Brendon Ayanbadejo, the Ravens linebacker who is supporting the new law. “I took a stance like other guys have done before me,” Birk said... Read more