The news is just horrific: A group of teens, who filmed and mocked a disabled man as he slowly drowned in a pond, would not be criminally charged as no laws were broken in recording the video, Florida Police said Thursday. Jamel Dunn, 32, drowned in a retention pond July 9 as the teens recorded his ordeal and did not bother to help him, or call for help in Cocoa, Florida. Dunn’s body was not discovered until three days, according... Read more

Further proof that deacons come from everywhere: this profile of a candidate from the Keene Sentinel in New Hampshire: With some people, you can divine their personality, their psyche, by looking at their faces. In Fintan P. Moore Jr.’s case, it’s his eyes; they sparkle and stay laser-focused on you. He’s paying close attention to what you’re saying. He’s listening carefully; he’s thinking. When you learn more about him, you figure out why that is. He’s spent his career, 40-plus... Read more

This is pretty remarkable:  In 2015, Zion Harvey became known to the public as the youngest person in the world to go through a successful bilateral hand transplant. Zion, who was 8 at the time, captured hearts with his upbeat attitude toward life and his wise-beyond-his-years expositions — on everything from losing both of his hands to an infection at age 2 to why he wanted to adopt a dog — in a widely shared video by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The film... Read more

Few would disagree that the trials of John McCain have been beyond what most of us could endure. As we lift our hearts in prayer for him, I was moved by this account, from 2008, when he described for TIME magazine the importance of his Christian faith, beginning with his years in a Hanoi prison: On Christmas Day, I was standing in the dirt courtyard when I saw [the] guard approach me. He walked up and stood silently next to... Read more

Monday, The New York Times correspondent Rikmini Callimachi posted a series of tweets that reminded the world of the resilience and hope of Christians who survived life in Mosul. Together, they offer a snapshot of one woman’s efforts to continue her faith: In West Mosul, we were introduced to 1 of only [a few] Christians who stayed during ISIS’ rule.  She described how they announced on the mosque speaker that Christians needed to convert, leave, or else pay a jizya,... Read more

From Canada comes this potent PSA, cautioning against texting while driving. https://www.facebook.com/NowThisPolitics/videos/1631586916872792/?permPage=1   Photo: Pixabay Read more

This is something to see. Prepare to be aaaaahhed. It happened off Long Island and has taken the interwebs by storm. And I mean that literally: the Golden Retriever is named Storm. Just watch. Read more

A sign of hope in France: The first priest to be ordained in the Rouen diocese since Father Jacques Hamel’s death will most likely be Julien Hamel, who was ordained a deacon on, July 2. Hs last name, identical to that of elderly priest murdered at his altar last summer, echoes like a beautiful symbol. There is no family relationship between 25 year-old Julien Hamel and Father Jacques Hamel, the elderly priest martyred on July 26, 2016, at age 86.... Read more

There’s been a lot of throat-clearing and hand-wringing over Benedict’s remarks, delivered via telegram, at the funeral of Cardinal Joachim Meisner: What particularly impressed me in that last talk with the retired Cardinal, was the loosened joy, the inner joy, and the confidence he had found. We know that this passionate shepherd and pastor found it difficult to leave his post, especially at a time in which the Church stands in particularly pressing need of convincing shepherds who can resist... Read more

I was a little flabbergasted to read this on a friend’s Facebook page: For the fourth Sunday in a row, my daughter has been denied communion. In fact, since her first Holy Communion in May, she has only been offered the Eucharist at Sunday Mass twice. My daughter used to adore Mass. Sundays were her favorite day of the week because she got to see Jesus. Now she hates Sundays and begs to skip Mass, because she’s convinced that she’s... Read more