Legal and lethal: Europe expands euthanasia for those “tired of living”

Last updated on: August 20, 2015 at 11:39 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The Washington Post: If you were a psychiatrist and a chronically depressed patient told you he wanted to die, what would you do? In Belgium, you might prescribe this vulnerable, desperate person a fatal dose of sodium thiopental. Between October 2007 and December 2011, 100 people went to a clinic in Belgium’s Dutch-speaking region with depression, or schizophrenia, or, in several cases, Asperger’s syndrome, seeking euthanasia. The doctors, satisfied that 48 of the patients were in earnest, and that... Read more

Legal and lethal: Europe expands euthanasia for those “tired of living”

Last updated on: August 20, 2015 at 11:17 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Holy stock: S&P Dow Jones introduces Catholic Values index

Last updated on: August 20, 2015 at 11:13 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Marketwatch: S&P Dow Jones Indices, which brings us the much-followed S&P 500, now has a new index for Catholics who want to put their money where their religion is. The new socially responsible investment (SRI) tool is called the Catholic Values Index, and it excludes S&P 500 companies that are linked to military production, labor abuses, medical practices and other activities that the church opposes. The new Catholic Values Index notably includes companies that explore for, extract, and process fossil... Read more

Holy stock: S&P Dow Jones introduces Catholic Values index

Last updated on: August 20, 2015 at 10:20 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Boom: Omaha sees Catholic surge in suburbs, may build more schools and churches

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 2:30 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This is a good problem to have, I think. From Omaha.com: Step into St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church a couple of Sundays each month and you won’t see just one baby getting baptized. You could see more than a half dozen being splashed with Holy Water. Baptisms come in bunches at some Omaha-area Catholic churches, just one sign of the growth in some parishes that has prompted the Omaha Archdiocese to launch a study that will examine the possibility of... Read more

Boom: Omaha sees Catholic surge in suburbs, may build more schools and churches

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 11:10 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Francis Effect? Vocations climbing in New Jersey, Philadelphia since 2013

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 11:08 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

[getty src=”471197548?et=wlwKD2hgQDJfA1RyohQ94Q&viewMoreLink=on&sig=Z4KAttNCoeAhuyN5zx0Ijf6dnzVYvZZIibiFX9tWpkI=&caption=true” width=”594″ height=”395″] View image | gettyimages.com Details: The number of men in Philadelphia and South Jersey seeking to become Catholic priests took a dive in the mid-2000s when the church was rocked by the clergy-sex abuse scandal. However, that trend is starting to reverse itself, and some claim it’s thanks to a phenomenon known as “the Francis effect.” Five years ago, the Rev. Michael Romano was happily serving as a parish priest in South Jersey when the Bishop of... Read more

Facebook strikes again, blocking Msgr. Charles Pope

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 11:06 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Last night, I was one of many who received the following email from Msgr. Charles Pope, well-known blogger and writer in the Archdiocese of Washington: Just a brief note to inform you that I have been blocked from Facebook. They claim that Msgr. Charles Pope is not my real name and are requiring me to submit government ID proving that Msgr. Charles Pope is my true identity. As of now, I have no intention of doing this since I consider it... Read more

“You worship idols”: haters slam Texas governor over Facebook post about the Virgin Mary

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 11:02 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Further proof that anti-Catholicism is alive and well: Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) got a lesson in religious tolerance over the weekend after posting an image of the Virgin Mary accompanied by praise on his Facebook page, according to the San Antonio Express-News. On Saturday the governor, who is Catholic, posted an image of the mother of Jesus on his Texans for Abbott Facebook page, accompanied by the comment: “The Virgin Mary is exalted above the choirs of angels. Blessed is the Lord... Read more

Francis Effect? Vocations climbing in New Jersey, Philadelphia since 2013

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 10:57 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

View image | gettyimages.com Details: The number of men in Philadelphia and South Jersey seeking to become Catholic priests took a dive in the mid-2000s when the church was rocked by the clergy-sex abuse scandal. However, that trend is starting to reverse itself, and some claim it’s thanks to a phenomenon known as “the Francis effect.” Five years ago, the Rev. Michael Romano was happily serving as a parish priest in South Jersey when the Bishop of Camden gave him a... Read more