H/T to Karl Keating for alerting me to this lovely moment. What a great witness. I wonder what Mike Pence thought? Read more

Details:  Pope Francis has sent a message to President Donald J. Trump, following his inauguration as the 45th President of the United States of America. The full text: The Honorable Donald Trump President of the United States of America The White House Washington   Upon your inauguration as the forty-fifth President of the United States of America, I offer you my cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in... Read more

From the BBC, some news about a an unusual help ad in the Anglican church: A unique job, with potential for infinite upward progression, is being advertised. The Diocese of Leicester is setting up a monastic community in the heart of the city – and wants a prior to run it. The role requires “spiritual maturity and wisdom… a discerning and prayerful heart” but may also involve deciding who does the washing. Earthly reward is about £25,000 pa, plus accommodation... Read more

Here’s something you don’t hear every day, from a young husband and father, writing in The Catholic Herald:  Few passages in Holy Writ ring true like St Paul’s lines in 1 Corinthians about not being able to get a proper look at our own reflections. When I was a teenager, I told anyone who would listen that my sole aspiration in life was to direct critically acclaimed low-budget films heavy on atmosphere and romantic yearning, with that sort of hazy... Read more

From Rome Reports:  In the Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe, something unusual took place.Accompanying the the pope around the altar that day were a father and a son. They are Fr. David Parker, and Deacon David Parker, from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Fr. David had been ordained just a few days before the Mass of Guadalupe as a Legionary of Christ, and his father is also newly ordained… a deacon. Fr. David called in a few favors and managed to... Read more

Incredible but true:  A nun in Nebraska who teaches in a secondary school has been told that she is not allowed to wear her habit in the classroom. 37-year-old, Sister Madeleine Miller, was shocked to learn that, under a little-known law nearly a century old, habits were banned. The vaguely worded ban prohibits teachers from wearing any sort of religious clothing, from burqas to yarmulkes. “I could have been arrested, jailed, fined or had my license taken away if I... Read more

So, this just happened, an interview I did with America not long ago has been published. Here’s some of what I had to say to Sean Salai, S.J.: Next summer will mark 50 years since Pope Paul VI restored the diaconate as a permanent ministry in Roman Catholicism on June 18, 1967, which he did on the recommendation of the council fathers at the Second Vatican Council. As a permanent deacon yourself, how do you assess the success of this... Read more

From Pew:  Some world leaders begin their tenures with high favorability ratings – only to see their popularity fall over time. But, in the U.S., Pope Francis remains as popular as ever, with seven-in-ten Americans saying their opinion of the pontiff is “very” or “mostly” favorable, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. When Francis began his papacy in March of 2013, 57% of Americans held a favorable view of him, while 14% held an unfavorable view and 29%... Read more

Details: He was only trying to be kind to a homeless man. That, according to the former campus president of a Kansas City trade school, is what led to him being fired, while offering a homeless man shelter from cold weather. Brian Carroll, campus president at Vatterott College in Kansas City for five years, says one of his students had no place to go. On Friday, January 6th, he allowed a student, who is homeless and schizophrenic, to sleep overnight... Read more

The USCCB is sending the following letter to members of the House of Representatives and the Senate: As you begin the 115th Congress, I urge you to work in a bipartisan fashion to protect vulnerable Americans and preserve important gains in health care coverage and access. The Catholic bishops of the United States have consistently advocated for access to decent health care that safeguards and affirms human life and dignity from conception until natural death. In a 2009 letter to Congress,... Read more