Meet the man St. Maximilian Kolbe replaced in Auschwitz

Last updated on: August 14, 2015 at 8:29 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Today is the great saint’s feast day. The story of his martyrdom is well-known, but I’m not sure how many know the details about the man whose life he saved. It’s chronicled in Wikipedia: Franciszek Gajowniczek, a Roman Catholic, was born in Strachomin near Mińsk Mazowiecki. He lived in Warsaw since 1921, and had a wife and two sons. He was a professional soldier who took part in the defence of Wieluń as well as Warsaw in September 1939. He was captured by the Gestapo in Zakopane. He arrived at... Read more

Remembering Msgr. Joe Funaro

Last updated on: August 14, 2015 at 8:28 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

I can’t believe it’s been two years. In 2013, on the Vigil of the Assumption, the pastor who had mentored me through my formation entered eternal life. Those who knew him will tell you: there was no one quite like Joe Funaro—a big man with a big personality, a big appetite (for food and for life) and a big heart. In 2007, when he and I sat down with our parish’s music director to plan my post-ordination Mass of Thanksgiving,... Read more

California, here I come

Last updated on: August 14, 2015 at 8:27 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

This morning, I’m flying out to scenic Monterey, California, not too far from San Francisco, to lead a retreat for deacons and wives out there. The director of the diaconate program is some fellow named Ditewig. I’m told the retreat house has WiFi. But I’m also told an ocean of some sort may be nearby. That may prove to be a distraction. Blogging may be light. We shall see. Pray for all of us, and know that I’ll be praying for... Read more

California, here I come

Last updated on: August 14, 2015 at 5:31 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Court rules against baker in same-sex marriage case

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 6:10 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From CNN: An appellate court on Thursday ruled against a Colorado bakery owner who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, rejecting among other things his denial that he discriminated against them because they are gay. he Colorado Court of Appeals decision affirms a commission’s earlier decision that Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood and its owner, Jack Phillips, violated the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act when he declined to make a cake for Charlie Craig and David Mullins’ wedding reception... Read more

Former archbishop of Canterbury calls assisted suicide “profoundly Christian and moral”

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 2:45 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: Allowing doctors to help terminally ill people to take their own lives would be a “profoundly Christian and moral thing” to do, the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has insisted. He dismissed arguments that enduring pain at the end of life is a “noble thing” and insisted that proper legal safeguards could be devised to ensure vulnerable people are not pressurised into ending their lives by greedy relatives. His remarks, ahead of a Commons vote on assisted dying,... Read more

Wait. Are you saying Christians online are mean? Really?

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 9:09 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Huffington Post, a writer has a revelation: I’m a newcomer to social media. I only created a Facebook account in January to promote my new book on reflective faith. This is only my fifth Huffington Post blog. I think I have 16 followers on Twitter. I decided to blog because I thought I might have something to offer to conversations about religion, specifically Christianity, coming from my perspective at the intersection of women, gender and sexuality studies and religious... Read more

Court rules against baker in same-sex marriage case

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 8:24 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Former archbishop of Canterbury calls assisted suicide “profoundly Christian and moral”

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 8:22 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Wait. Are you saying Christians online are mean? Really?

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 8:19 am By Deacon Greg Kandra