Believing in God's job creation plan

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

If you’re praying for work, you have plenty of company — and religion can play a role in how people view government assistance, according to a new survey: As the nation struggles with 9.1 percent unemployment and President Barack Obama pushes a $447 billion job creation bill, a new survey shows that religion plays a significant role in how Americans view possible solutions to the country’s economic woes. The Baylor University study, which was presented at a Religion Newswriters Association conference in North Carolina... Read more

Worth a thousand words

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Sign spotted in a Polish church: Read more

Smile. You're beautiful!

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A little girl in Brazil underwent cleft lip surgery. What happened when she saw her face the morning after? Just watch. Read more

RIP, Dolores Hope

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The widow of entertainer Bob Hope has died, at the amazing age of 102. Her obituary notes her Catholic roots: Dolores DeFina was born on May 27, 1909, in Harlem, the daughter of John Thomas DeFina and the former Theresa Kelly. She grew up in the Bronx and changed her last name to Reade when she began a career as a nightclub singer. She was appearing at the Vogue Club in Manhattan under that name in 1933 when the actor... Read more

Local boy makes good: New Hampshire gets a new bishop from Queens

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Well, he was born in Queens, anyway. Details: New Hampshire’s 300,000 Roman Catholics have a new leader. The Vatican on Monday named the Rev. Peter Anthony Libasci to succeed Bishop John McCormack as bishop of the Diocese of Manchester. The 59-year-old Libasci is New York City native ordained in 1978 who most recently served as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Center in New York. He is scheduled to be introduced at a news conference at St. Joseph Cathedral... Read more

It is finished: remarkable hand-drawn Bible goes on display

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

It’s quite an achievement and, as those who have seen it can attest, it is a feast for the eye. (I gave a copy of the Psalms to my pastor as a gift for the 40th anniversary of his ordination. It’s ravishing.) Details: It was a task of biblical proportions — drawing every letter and illustration in a Bible painstakingly by hand. Now, 13 years after its inception, the brightly colored and massive St. John’s Bible is complete, and pages... Read more

Meet the "Running Priest"

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A priest in the Philippines has become a celebrity for the courageous — and unusual — way he now draws attention to important issues. Check this out, from the BBC: Father Robert Reyes is a Catholic priest, but he is better known for putting on his running shoes and jogging around the country promoting different causes. “People don’t know my name anymore,” Father Reyes says, smiling. “They see me and say: ‘That’s the running priest’.” It all began in 1995,... Read more

Another Kennedy funeral

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

For Kara Kennedy Allen, daughter of Ted Kennedy. Details: The funeral for Kara Kennedy, the eldest child of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, will be held Wednesday in Washington. Kara Kennedy died Friday at age 51, collapsing after her daily workout at a health club. Her family says in a statement that a wake will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Gawler’s Funeral Home in Washington. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at... Read more

Quote of the day, on single-sex dorms

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

“It’s the same as saying that since Muslims and Jews don’t get along we should force them to live apart. Should we also have separate sex classes or separate sex parking lots?” — Lawyer John H. Banzhaf, on CUA’s decision to return to single-sex dorms. Evidently, he was serious. Read more. Read more

Schonborn on protesting priests: "I'm not ready for schism"

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Austrian priests who have issued a “Call to Disobedience” have gotten an answer, and it may not be what they wanted. Details: The head of Vienna’s Roman Catholic community ruled out sweeping changes demanded by dissident priests and said there could be “serious conflict” if they defied Church teaching on celibacy or give communion to remarried divorcees. Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said he would not lead his diocese into a schism with leaders in the Vatican by letting priests flout... Read more