This is our processional hymn this week: A great thumping Protestant march. The composer’s biography indicates it was originally entitled, “Come, Children, Join to Sing,” and was composed for young people: Bateman, Christian Henry, son of John Bateman, was born Aug. 9, 1813, at Wyke, near Halifax. After studying in the Moravian Church and exercising his ministry there for a time, he became, in 1843, minister of Richmond Place Congregational Church, Edinburgh. After 1846 he was successively Congregational minister at... Read more

Seriously. A study finds it is so: Contrary to what you might assume after hate-browsing Facebook, it seems the internet may have actually made people less dogmatic about religion. A recent study published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion has found evidence that the more we use the internet, the less likely we are to have a specific religious affiliation or to believe in and practice one religion exclusively. Paul McClure, a doctoral student in sociology at... Read more

If you missed it live earlier today, here it is: the president’s historic address delivered via satellite to the marchers from the Rose Garden. Read more

Behold, Russian President Vladimir Putin, observing Orthodox Epiphany early this morning by taking a plunge into freezing water in Russia. Some background:  For Orthodox Christians the feast of the Epiphany (or Theophany), which takes place on January 19 and commemorates Christ’s baptism in the River Jordan, is celebrated with a blessing of the waters. On this holy day, at midnight on the eve of the feast, thousands of Russian Orthodox brave below-freezing temperatures and plunge (if only briefly) into ice-cold... Read more

This is big news, from my colleague John Burger:  The Trump Administration is setting up a new division within the Department of Health and Human Services to help ensure that the conscience rights of doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers will be respected. The new division, which will be part of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, will not accept complaints from health-care professionals and will be responsible for ensuring that hospitals, clinics and other institutions across the country are... Read more

This step is exceptional and, perhaps, even unprecedented: Bishop Anthony B. Taylor announced Jan. 17 that he has decided to not participate in Little Rock’s March for Life in protest to keynote speaker Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s stance in support of the death penalty. In a letter to the “people of the Diocese of Little Rock,” he encouraged Catholics to join him at one of two Masses for Life he is celebrating Sunday, Jan. 21 at the Cathedral of St. Andrew to... Read more

He caused a sensation a few years ago with a TV appearance (see above) and now Hollywood is calling:  An Australian priest from a country town could soon become a Hollywood sensation after US film producers bought the rights to his new book. Such is his appeal, industry experts IMDb have linked superstars Ryan Gosling, Roberto Beniagni and opera singer Andrea Bocelli as potential collaborators of the film. For Fr Rob Galea, who is currently serving St Killian’s Parish, in... Read more

Details:  Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva gave general absolution to about 45 people in a deacon formation program in response to the alert of an imminent ballistic missile attack that put Hawaii in a state of panic shortly after 8 a.m. Jan. 13. It was the first time he had ever performed the rite. The absolution of sins given to a group of people at one time is allowed only in grave circumstances, such as situations of great danger or imminent... Read more

This is big. EWTN broke the story earlier today on Twitter, and it is now being reported elsewhere:  President Donald Trump will address the March for Life on Friday in live remarks to hundreds of thousands of pro-life people attending the event from across the country. Trump is keeping a tradition alive that’s seen previous presidents taking a pro-life position making similar phone calls to encourage pro-life advocates to continue fighting against abortion. President Trump will become the first president... Read more

This meme is working its way around social media—and it’s too good not to share. Kudos to the good folks at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. [img attachment=”271473″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /] The backstory:  A Minneapolis church is getting quite the reaction to a Facebook post playing off the Vikings’ improbable comeback win Sunday over the New Orleans Saints. Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church took to Facebook with its own take on the 61-yard touchdown pass from Vikings quarterback... Read more