“The world is becoming more religious, not less…”

Last updated on: May 21, 2015 at 4:10 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

An interesting perspective, from author Wes Granberg-Michaelson in The Washington Post: While Christianity may be on the decline in the United States, the world is becoming more religious, not less. While rising numbers of “nones” — those who claim no religious affiliation when asked — claim the attention of religious pundits, the world tells a different story. Religious convictions are growing and shifting geographically in several dramatic ways. The center of Christianity has shifted from Europe to the global South. The religious landscape... Read more

SF aftershock: controversial priest, Fr. Illo, removed—UPDATED

Last updated on: May 24, 2015 at 8:18 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

You probably remember this headline-grabber from January. Now an update: The controversial pastor of a Catholic elementary school in San Francisco has been removed from his post, though some parents remain concerned that the change is only temporary. The announcement came late last month that a new chaplain was appointed to oversee the Star of the Sea Elementary in place of Rev. Joseph Illo and Rev. Patrick Driscoll, said Christy Brooks, a parent of two sons at the Richmond district... Read more

Iraqi Christians speak: “They wanted us to know they were believers”

Last updated on: May 21, 2015 at 12:57 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

I spent last evening at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, New York with some of my colleagues from CNEWA, hearing a first-hand account of life in Iraq, from someone who was jus there. It was a great evening: When CNEWA’s president Msgr. John Kozar looked at those gathered around the room Wednesday, he described it as a gathering of “family.” But if it was a family affair — and with about 60 people scattered around on sofas and... Read more

Pete Docter, the devout Christian from Pixar who makes blockbuster movies

Last updated on: May 21, 2015 at 12:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The acclaimed director of such modern animated classics as “Up” and “Monsters, Inc.” has a new movie coming out this summer, “Inside Out.” A profile in The New York Times today captured this interesting detail of his early life: As a boy growing up in Minnesota, he dreamed of turning his bedroom into the Enchanted Tiki Room, a Disneyland attraction where animatronic birds serenade guests. So he did. “I harvested some bamboo during a summer trip to California, and my parents... Read more

Cardinal: Christians, Muslims “still don’t know each other well enough”

Last updated on: May 21, 2015 at 10:23 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From CNS: “Despite 50 years of ‘Nostra Aetate,'” the Second Vatican Council’s document on interreligious relations, “we still don’t know each other well enough,” said French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.Speaking May 19 about Catholic-Muslim relations, Cardinal Tauran added, “Most of the problems we face are problems of ignorance.” Cardinal Tauran made his remarks in a keynote address at the conference “‘Nostra Aetate’: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Catholic Church’s Dialogue With Jews and... Read more

I’m trying hard to forgive Albany…

Last updated on: May 21, 2015 at 1:57 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

…for taking this guy away from us. Ladies and gentlemen, Brooklyn’s own Bishop Ed Scharfenberger. Doing what bishops do. And doing it beautifully. Read more