“Most people are both-and, not either-or…”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

An interesting take on the HHS debacle, from Mary C. Curtis in this morning’s WaPo: When the Obama administration made the decision to require Catholic-run organizations to pay for health-care plans that include contraception, officials no doubt expected its critics to attack. What they didn’t expect, I’m just as certain, is that those friendly to so many of its policies would cry foul, too… …It’s a mistake that politicians and parties make, categorizing Americans into red vs. blue, poor vs.... Read more

Meet Maggie Gallagher

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Salon has a long profile of the woman who is one of the most vocal proponents of traditional marriage, and how she got to be where she is today: In September 1978, Yale freshmen would not have voted Maggie Gallagher the member of the Class of 1982 most likely to get pregnant before graduation. Gallagher was the third of four children from a close family in Portland, Ore. When she was young, her parents, a financial planner and a housewife,... Read more

“Our Lady of Perpetual Windex”?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

That’s one of the names one wag has suggested to replace “Crystal Cathedral.” Details: Just days after finalizing the purchase of California-based megachurch Crystal Cathedral, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange has decided not only to rename the site, but also to take suggestions from the public on what the new name should be. More than 600 suggestions were collected within the first 24 hours of the announcement, CBS Los Angeles reports. The only catch is that “any suggested name... Read more

Hitler reacts to the new Roman Missal

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

You knew this was coming sooner or later. Read more

Imagine if Catholics were required by law to do this…

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A provocative scenario, from Ironic Catholic: Washington, DC, April 19, 1847: The U.S. administration, after considering a conscientious objection exemption for religious institutions, decided that Catholics institutions must pay a “forced servanthood fee” for employees who wish to own slaves, up to $1,000 a slave per year. “It is the law of many states that slavery is legal, and white men are free to own slaves. Indeed, most white men want to own slaves, seeing how abolitionists are treated like... Read more

What is a vested deacon doing carrying a rifle? — UPDATED

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, your eyes do not deceive you. What you see here is a vested deacon cradling a rifle. Deacon Bill Ditewig explains: The caption identifies Bishop Richard Spencer of the Archdiocese for Military Services, USA, distributing communion to troops who are obviously in a hostile fire zone in Iraq. The deacon next to the bishop is unidentified, but having a deacon vested and assisting the bishop while heavily armed is completely inappropriate. I fully understand the need... Read more

Remember Fr. Pfleger? He’s back in the news

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: Nearly a year after a confrontation between the Rev. Michael Pfleger, an outspoken Chicago priest, and Cardinal Francis George, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced Tuesday that Pfleger will take on administrative duties at a new parish while sharing responsibilities with a co-pastor at his longtime parish, St. Sabina. Pfleger was named the temporary administrator of St. Margaret of Scotland Church at 99th and Throop streets, the archdiocese announced in a statement on its website. A new pastor for St.... Read more

Quote of the day

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

“Yes, I want a solution to this mess. But, I also want a victory by which I mean I want a really robust conscience exemption. I want any change by the White House not only to work in terms of resolving this issue but to send a clear and unambiguous statement that in this great diverse, pluralistic country of ours, there is room for us Catholics to be Catholic, with all of our quirks, and that the government recognizes that... Read more

Nevermore: did you know you can actually see the raven that inspired Poe?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

I sure didn’t. Details: When it comes to literary greats, inspiration can come from anywhere. For famed gothic writer Edgar Allen Poe, one idea came from a raven, which inspired his famous poem of the same name about the foreboding bird. Now that little black muse is enshrined in a history exhibit for all to see. The actual bird that inspired the gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door can now be found by the public in the flesh (well,... Read more

Cardinal Egan takes back apology for abuse: “I don’t think we did anything wrong”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

He made his remarks in an interview with a Connecticut magazine, and it’s set off a firestorm: In 2002, at the height of the outcry over the sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic priests, the Archbishop of New York, Edward M. Egan, issued a letter to be read at Mass. In it, he offered an apology about the church’s handling of sex-abuse cases in New York and in Bridgeport, Conn., where he was previously posted. “It is clear that today we... Read more