Out-of-wedlock births falling: “People are just not having the kids”

Last updated on: May 8, 2015 at 6:55 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The New York Times: Single parenthood was on a “mysterious and alarming rise,” becoming a “huge problem,” according to a 2013 article in the Atlantic. The lawyer defending same-sex marriage bans before the Supreme Court last month argued that out-of-wedlock births were growing rapidly. But the birthrate for unmarried mothers, which had been steadily increasing since the early 1980s, peaked in 2008 and has declined 14 percent since, more than the decline for all women. The recent declines were sharpest among teenagers; black and Hispanic women;... Read more

Out-of-wedlock births falling: “People are just not having the kids”

Last updated on: May 8, 2015 at 1:10 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Husband, father, deacon—and soon, a priest

Last updated on: May 8, 2015 at 1:06 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From CatholicPhilly.com: Thirteen years ago Jim Cardosi’s wife, Cindy, discovered she had little time left to live. In 2002 she experienced symptoms resulting from a neurological illness that by 2005 would be identified as frontotemporal dementia or Pick’s Disease, which Cindy developed in her mid-40s. She required full-time care, so Jim retired from the military. They raised five kids together and built their lives around each other. Jim’s faith kept him poised throughout the illness, and he felt the call... Read more

Pope: church is about unity, not forming lobbies

Last updated on: May 8, 2015 at 12:57 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

I can’t imagine what he’s talking about, can you? Details: Pope Francis says discussions within the Church are to seek unity and and it should not be a place where people are always clashing, betraying each other and forming lobbies to win their argument. He said the Holy Spirit helps bring change and moves things forward within the Church but at the same time it creates unity between all its members. This was the core message of his homily on... Read more

Great moments in journalism: worst TV news ad ever? Maybe.

Last updated on: May 8, 2015 at 12:51 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Get a load of how WNEM TV (in Saginaw) is promoting its anchor team for sweeps: Some commentary on this here. As media observer Jim Romenesko notes: “Y’all know Julia Roberts was a prostitute in that movie, right?” RIGHT? Shameless? Yeah. Further proof, if any where needed, that the news business isn’t what it used to be. Not by a long shot. Read more

Words the world needs to hear

Last updated on: May 7, 2015 at 3:32 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

They are the words of a 12-year-old Iraqi refugee named Tamara in Ankawa, Iraq, as reported by CNS, and they are beautiful: “ISIS took everything,” she said, “but we still have our faith in Jesus Christ, and they will never take it.” CNEWA President Msgr. John E. Kozar, meeting these extraordinary people while on a pastoral visit with Cardinal Leonardo Sandri this week, said: “Even in the midst of extreme poverty and the complete lack of privacy and... Read more

Game changer? Study finds premature babies may survive at 22 weeks

Last updated on: May 7, 2015 at 3:02 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The New York Times: A small number of very premature babies are surviving earlier outside the womb than doctors once thought possible, a new study has documented, raising questions about how aggressively they should be treated and posing implications for the debate about abortion. The study, of thousands of premature births, found that a tiny minority of babies born at 22 weeks who were medically treated survived with few health problems, although the vast majority died or suffered serious... Read more

Virginia’s bishops: “The death penalty does not provide true healing, nor embody the Gospel of Life”

Last updated on: May 7, 2015 at 2:43 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This may have escaped your attention yesterday, but it deserves an airing: The following statement on the death penalty was issued by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde and Richmond Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo: This year, through the advocacy of the Virginia Catholic Conference, our church spent considerable time opposing legislation related to the death penalty. The proposed measure would have permitted the commonwealth to arrange with compounding pharmacies to mix drugs for use in executions, hiding from the public the... Read more

Prosecutors want to prevent “Dead Man Walking” nun from testifying in Boston Marathon bomber trial

Last updated on: May 7, 2015 at 11:08 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: Federal prosecutors want the nun who inspired the movie “Dead Man Walking” to be prevented from testifying in the case of the Boston Marathon bomber, according to court records. At a sidebar conference with U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s defense team said that they may rest their case as early as today after jurors hear testimony from Sister Helen Prejean, a staunch death penalty opponent. Susan Sarandon played Sister Helen in a 1995 movie starring Sean Penn about her relationship with... Read more

Cardinal to celebrate Mass for LGBT Catholics

Last updated on: May 7, 2015 at 7:08 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From U.K.’s The Catholic Herald Cardinal Vincent Nichols will celebrate Mass with a “pastoral outreach” to gay Catholics in central London on Sunday. Same-sex attracted Catholics, along with their families, will attend the Mass at Farm Street Jesuit Church in Mayfair at 6.15pm. It is the first time a cardinal has celebrated a Mass “welcoming” gay Catholics, according to the LGBT Catholics Westminster Pastoral Council, the group that organises Sunday evening gatherings at the church. A spokesman for the cardinal... Read more