Running, it turns out, is habit-forming. Details: Her nun’s habit is too long to run with, so Stephanie Baliga won’t wear it when she runs in next month’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon. But you still might be able to pick out Baliga from among the thousands of runners by the rosary beads that she’s thinking she’ll bring along on the 26.2-mile run Oct. 9. Oh, and there’s also the special running skirt, designed for modesty. Baliga, 23, is a... Read more
The reason: serious differences with the news agency’s sponsor, the Legionaries of Christ. Details, from Catholic News Service: Spanish journalist Jesus Colina, who established Zenit in 1997 and helped build it into a seven-language agency with about 450,000 email subscribers around the world, said he had been asked to resign because he resisted pressures to identify the agency and its work more closely with the Legionaries order. Colina made the announcement in an email sent to Zenit personnel Sept. 28.... Read more
Behold, a new line of greeting cards from Hallmark, offering support and consolation after a job loss: Details: “Don’t think of it as losing your job, think of it as a time-out between stupid bosses.” That’s just one of the many comforting sentiments that that consumers can find in Hallmark’s line of greeting cards for those who’ve recently lost their job. NPR reports that the demand for unemployment-related cards was so high, Hallmark decided to release a whole new line... Read more
Ladies and gentlemen, from the X-Factor, meet the burrito-maker with the amazing voice, Josh Krajcik. Feel those goosebumps? Read more
A tweet forwarded to me from a reader: Read more
Another giant is gone. Details: Philip Matthew Hannan, the archbishop who built an ever-widening network of services for the poor during nearly a quarter-century as the pastor of nearly a half-million New Orleans’ Catholics, died Thursday at 3 a.m. at Chateau de Notre Dame, the Archdiocese of New Orleans said. He was 98. Archbishop Hannan died on the 46th anniversary of his appointment to New Orleans. Archbishop Hannan “truly made New Orleans his home. This was his parish and his... Read more
There’s a lively and intelligent debate about the Pavone-Zurek standoff simmering in a couple corners of the blogosphere, with broadcaster Al Kresta and canon lawyer Dr. Ed Peters staking out very different opinions on the matter. After Kresta interviewed Fr. Pavone for his radio show, Peters offered some pointed criticism. And yesterday, Kresta responded: Calling the interview an “infomercial” is silly. It was not a hostile interview. Why should it have been since the diocese of Amarillo doesn’t allege any... Read more
Fr. Joe Corpora was once a student at the legendary university, and now lives and works there. He offers his perspective in the Observer, Notre Dame’s newspaper: During my years away, I began to hear rumblings about the Catholic nature of Notre Dame. The controversy surrounding the commencement visit of the President of the United States in 2008 made this question the talk of the nation. Some of my brother priests found it necessary to write articles and letters questioning... Read more
And of course, she’s now being sued over it. It’s unfolding in the upstate New York town of Ledyard. Details, from the New York Times: Rose Marie Belforti is a 57-year-old cheese maker, the elected town clerk in this sprawling Finger Lakes farming community and a self-described Bible-believing Christian. She believes that God has condemned homosexuality as a sin, so she does not want to sign same-sex marriage licenses; instead, she has arranged for a deputy to issue all marriage... Read more
And his name is Mark Shea!. Details: Mark-the-prolific; Mark-the-down-shouting; Mark-the-smart; Mark-the-serious; Mark-the-scathingly-funny; Mark-the-take-no-prisoners-passionately-Catholic-Shea is moving his blog here to the Catholic portal at Patheos! Having been a fan of Mark’s for years (after I got past my terror of him; he is formidable when he’s passionate, but you know that!) I could not be more thrilled to welcome him aboard! His willingness to go against conventional wisdom — secular and church-wide — in order to remain true to the teachings... Read more
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