He was inspired by one of the priests in his diocese. From the Albany Times Union: It’s not a sin for a bishop to steal an idea. After the Rev. Bob Longobucco spent 24 hours straight hearing confessions, Bishop Edward Scharfenberger was so impressed, he decided to do the same. Pastor of the Roman Catholic St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Schenectady, Longobucco performed what the church calls the sacrament of reconciliation 130 times on March 4-5. “It was amazing. It... Read more

I’m clattering along the tracks on the way back to New York City, after a great 24 hours in the Diocese of Springfield (MA), where I spoke Wednesday night at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Westfield. I was part of their Lenten series on “Mercy Among Us,” and delivered a talk on CNEWA and its support for persecuted Christians in the Middle East. [img attachment=”95344″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”IMG_4981″ /] Ace reporter Peggy Weber covered the event for... Read more

Details:  Secretary of State John Kerry has determined that the Islamic State group is committing genocide against Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria, according to U.S. officials, as he acted to meet a congressional deadline. But Kerry’s finding, set to be announced Thursday, will not obligate the United States to take additional action against IS militants and does not prejudge any prosecution against its members, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not... Read more

Some of his itinerary for his historic trip to Cuba has been released: During his three-day trip to Cuba — the first to the country by a sitting president in nearly 90 years — Obama will meet with [Raul] Castro at the Palace of the Revolution and attend a Major League Baseball exhibition game. His much-anticipated meeting with Cuban dissidents will include prominent members of the government’s opposition, Rhodes said, stressing that the U.S. and not Cuba was deciding who... Read more

From Aleteia’s front page today, a beautiful reflection on The Prodigal Son by another “recovering journalist” and deacon, Deacon Chip Wilson of Charlotte, NC: For years the image I kept in my head from the Parable of the Prodigal Son was of this benevolent, rich father, wearing a beard and fancy robe, embracing a son who looked something like a fraternity boy after a weekend of hard partying. That image got upended some five years ago by a tattooed teenaged... Read more

It says something that a man like John Kasich is struggling, and Donald Trump is surging. Details:  There’s good reason to believe, however, that the most religiously driven candidate of all is a man who is remarkably un-theatrical about his beliefs—who even vows, “I don’t go out and try to win a vote by using God. I think that cheapens God.” That would be John Kasich. There is no easy way to measure how deeply a person believes, of course,... Read more

The Pope of Selfies will now have a place to post all those pictures. Details:  Pope Francis seems on a divine mission to be the most tech savvy Holy See in history. After making his social media name with a Twitter following that now reaches almost 9 million, the pontiff is now prepping for a debut on Instagram, the photo sharing site and cell phone app. The pontiff’s handle will be Franciscus, according to TheNextWeb.com. The announcement was made by... Read more

I’m heading north Wednesday, to visit Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Westfield, Massachusetts, in the Diocese of Springfield. I”ll be part of their Lenten speaker series, “Mercy Among Us,” discussing my work with CNEWA and efforts to help persecuted Christians in the Middle East. My talk is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 pm. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello! Read more

This just in:  The Knights of Columbus and Crux are pleased to announce that they plan to enter into a partnership in which Crux will remain an independent news outlet headed by John Allen and Inés San Martín. The project is designed to make one of the world’s best known Catholic news platforms even stronger. The partnership will combine the Knights’ resources and spirit of service with the journalistic experience and commitment of Crux. As part of the project, Catholic... Read more