From his blog, a very good question:  One of my favorite memories of baseball is about the pitching legend Sandy Koufax.  This cherished recollection about one of the game’s greatest pitchers did not occur on the mound, however, it came in 1965, when Sandy informed the manager of the Dodgers that he would not be able to pitch on the Jewish high holyday, Yom Kippur.  For Sandy, his faith was more important than even baseball. Last week I was taking... Read more

Some good news:  The number of people going to confession in St. Peter’s Basilica increased noticeably in the first months of Year of Mercy, but not among English-speakers, who apparently are staying away from Europe out of fear of terrorism, said the rector of the basilica’s team of confessors. Conventual Franciscan Father Rocco Rizzo, the rector, told the Vatican newspaper that from the opening of the Holy Year Dec. 8 and through February, he heard about 2,000 confessions in St.... Read more

In the New York Times, of all places, TV critic James Poniewozik has this observation about Donald Trumps branding exercise the other night: The steaks in a presidential election have never been higher. After his victories in the Michigan and Mississippi Republican primaries on Tuesday night, Donald J. Trump held a news conference at his golf resort in Jupiter, Fla., in which he briefly turned cable news networks into his own personal warehouse club. With the usual row of United... Read more

From AP:  Pope Francis imposed new financial accountability regulations on the Vatican’s multimillion-dollar saint-making machine Thursday after uncovering gross abuses that were subsequently revealed in two books. The rules require external vigilance over individual Vatican bank accounts created for beatification and canonization causes, as well as regular budgeting and accounting to make sure the donations from the faithful are being used as intended. The reforms were imposed after Francis tasked a fact-finding commission to investigate Vatican finances, including at the... Read more

From Charlotte:  A local singer was invited and then uninvited to perform at a gala because of her sexuality. Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte is hosting Gala For Hope this Saturday in Asheville. This year’s event would’ve been the third time Kat Williams performed at that gala, which raises money to fight poverty and support local families. However, Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte says it learned of her same-sex relationship nearly two weeks ago and no longer wants her services... Read more

An interesting phenomenon, reported in The New York Times: When Chris Doyle learned that his health insurance deductible would climb to $10,000 last year, he and his wife, both evangelical Christians, “spent a couple weeks just praying,” he said. Then they opted out of insurance altogether, joining something called a health care sharing ministry, which requires members to help cover one another’s major medical costs as they come up. While such nonprofit ministries have been around for decades, interest in them... Read more

A fascinating interview with Bridgeport’s Bishop Frank Caggiano in Forbes:  Susan Adams: What challenges have you faced as Bishop of Bridgeport? Frank Caggiano: There were three challenges I saw immediately. First there was the real need to reconnect with our people. If you want to use business language, you could call them our customers. Adams: Do you have hedge fund managers and billionaires in your parish? Caggiano: Yes, absolutely. Adams: How generous are they? Caggiano: They have been extremely generous... Read more

Details, from RNS: Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl appeared to take a swipe at Georgetown University for inviting Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards to speak, saying that “it is neither authentically Catholic nor within the Catholic tradition for a university to provide a special platform to those voices that promote or support” issues such as abortion. Without mentioning the nation’s oldest Catholic university by name, Wuerl wrote in a blog post on March 8 about the importance of Catholics’ maintaining their Christian... Read more

Behold “Renewal in Motion,” a video featuring some sensational basketball moves from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.  Just watch. Jesus, I think, is smiling. Photo: Friars website Read more