2015-03-13T16:13:01-04:00

From Vatican Radio:  Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, head of the Holy See Press Office, has published the following “notes” on the new Cardinals, whose names were announced by Pope Francis at the Angelus on Sunday: With respect to the number of 120 electors, there were 12 places “open” in the College today or in the coming months. The Pope has slightly exceeded this number, but remained very close to it, such that it is substantially respected. The most evident criteria... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:01-04:00

The day before Mario Cuomo’s funeral in New York City, the city’s fabled 92nd St. Y has released, for the first time, the audio of a memorable talk he gave there over 20 years ago on the subject of God. The New York Times notes:  Like few other elected officials, Mr. Cuomo sought publicly to reconcile his belief in the God of his own Roman Catholic Church with his progressive political agenda, while challenging religious leaders and other public figures who claimed a... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:01-04:00

Today marks the feast of St. John Neumann, and a deacon friend reminded me of a visit I made last winter to Ohio and one of the churches where Neumann served. It’s St. Alphonsus in Peru, OH. I was there on a bitterly cold March evening to give a talk to deacons from Toledo. We took a brief tour of the grounds, including the log cabin where the saint lived for a short time.  The cabin is now a prayer... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:01-04:00

Bishop Edward K. Braxton, from the website for the Diocese of Belleville, IL. From CNS:  In a 19-page reflection on the “racial divide” in the United States, Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville, who is African-American, said he twice had been the victim of what he considered to be unjust police attitudes.The episodes “made me very conscious of the fact that simply by being me, I could be the cause of suspicion and concern without doing anything wrong,” wrote Bishop... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:17-04:00

The Rev Jacob Duche offers the first prayer for the Continental Congress, September 7, 1774, in Philadelphia, PA. Original painting by Tompkins Harrison Matteson, 1848. From Wikipedia. An interesting overview, from Pew:  When the new, 114th Congress is sworn in on Jan. 6, 2015, Republicans will control both chambers of the legislative body for the first time since the 109th Congress (2005-2006). Yet, despite the sea change in party control, there is relatively little change in the overall religious makeup... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:18-04:00

From The Papist:   Earlier this year she announced plans to produce an investigatory documentary on hormonal birth control.  What Upton Sinclair did in the Jungle to expose dark corners of the meat packing industry, and what Eric Schlosser did in Fast Food Nation to shine light into the fast food industry, so now Rikki Lake is seeking to do for the Billion dollar business of hormonal contraceptives.  Based on the book by Holly Grigg-Spall, Sweetening the Pill: Or how we got hooked on hormonal birth control, the documentary promises to... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:18-04:00

Jesús en casa de Anás by José de Madrazo Agudo (1803) via Wikipedia  From The Washington Post:   It started 15 years ago with plans to expand the Tower of David Museum. But the story took a strange turn when archaeologists started peeling away layers under the floor in an old abandoned building adjacent to the museum in Jerusalem’s Old City. They knew it had been used as a prison when the Ottoman Turks and then the British ruled these... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:18-04:00

I can’t recall reading anything by a member of Catholic clergy on this particular subject that is this personal. In the blog of New Ways Ministry, Deacon Ray Dever describes his son coming out, and what followed: Our journey has probably not been very different than the journey of any family with an LGBTQ child.  It really began with our daughter descending into a deep depression during high school.  We would learn more about depression and mental illness, about suicidal... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:19-04:00

Those words came from a homily delivered at an unusual ordination this weekend in Albany. From The Troy Record: Frederick Richard Lesser, a widowed father of three grown children, was ordained a transitional deacon Saturday at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Madison Avenue and Eagle Street, a step toward priesthood. “From the time I was small I have always wondered if I had this vocation,” said Lesser, 60. Lesser is a retired equine veterinarian from South Bethlehem, and... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:19-04:00

Shrine at Our Lady of Sorrows (from parish website) From the In My Backyard Desk, via The New York Post:  Flames tore through a Catholic church in Queens early Sunday, stunning parishioners who showed up for Mass only to find their house of worship on fire. Firefighters got the call at 5:45 a.m. and rushed to Our Lady of Sorrows at 104-11 37th Ave. in Corona, officials said. It took 106 of New York’s Bravest to bring the 2-alarm blaze under... Read more

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