Holy Land finds itself empty of tourists, as fighting escalates

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Bloomberg News: Omer Benjoya took a job this summer selling drinks, snacks and postcards on a hill that offers one of the most breathtaking panoramic views of Jerusalem. Now all the 17-year-old needs are customers. Since hostilities flared this month between Israel’s army and Palestinian militants in Gaza, tourists have been scarce. U.S. aviation regulators delivered a further blow this week, temporarily banning flights to Tel Aviv by American carriers for the first time since 1991, while their European... Read more

Arizona execution: As Joseph Wood died, a deacon prayed

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The accounts of yesterday’s botched execution are horrifying. But a deacon was with him as he died: A convicted double murderer snorted and gasped some 600 times as it took him almost two hours to die during a botched Arizona execution Wednesday. An attorney for Joseph Wood filed an emergency stay of execution about 70 minutes after the procedure had begun and left the 55-year-old inmate “gasping and snorting for more than an hour.” “This execution has violated Mr. Wood’s... Read more

Picture of the Day: Meriam Ibrahim meets Pope Francis

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Frank Weathers has the scoop. Details from CNS: Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told journalists that the encounter in the pope’s residence was marked by “affection” and “great serenity and joy.” They had “a beautiful conversation,” during which the pope thanked Ibrahim for “her steadfast witness of faith,” the priest said. Ibrahim thanked the pope for the church’s prayers and support during her plight, Father Lombardi said. The Vatican spokesman said the meeting was a sign of the pope’s... Read more

At last: NY Times editorial condemns attacks on Christians in Iraq

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From today’s paper: The Sunni extremists who control large swaths of Iraq recently presented Christians in Mosul with an ultimatum: Convert to Islam, pay a religious tax or die by the sword. The militants gave them until July 19 to comply, and by the deadline hundreds of the city’s remaining Christian families had fled from this cruel choice. The exodus goes far beyond the harm suffered by individual families forced to leave their homes. The brutal crackdown, by the Islamic State... Read more

U.S. religious leaders embrace cause of immigrant children

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The New York Times: After protesters shouting “Go home” turned back busloads of immigrant mothers and children in Murrieta, Calif., a furious Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, sat down at his notepad and drafted a blog post detailing his shame at the episode, writing, “It was un-American; it was unbiblical; it was inhumane.” When the governor of Iowa, Terry E. Branstad, said he did not want the migrants in his state, declaring, “We can’t accept every... Read more

“We have to ask the world: ‘Why are you silent?'”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Vatican Radio: “Where is the respect for the rights of Christians?” the Auxiliary Bishop of Baghdad Shlemon Warduni asks Vatican Radio. “We have to ask the world: Why are you silent? Why do not you speak out? Do human rights exist, or not? And if they exist, where are they? There are many, many cases that should arouse the conscience of the whole world: Where is Europe? Where is America?” …The German based aid agency Christian Aid Program of Northern... Read more

Having trouble staying awake at Mass?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Then this post by Cardinal Dolan is for you: “Mass is so boring!” How often have you parents heard that from your kids on Sunday morning? How often have our teachers and catechists heard it as they prepare our children for Mass? And, let’s admit it, how often have we said it to ourselves? What do we say to that unfortunate and almost sacrilegious statement? Well, for one, we simply reply, No, it’s not! You may find the Mass boring, but, that’s more... Read more

“Religious cleansing” in Iraq—UPDATED

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From CNS: Backed up by death threats and property seizures, the expulsion of the entire Christian community from Mosul is “a crime against humanity,” said an archbishop from Mosul. Chaldean Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona said the Islamic State, which took control of Iraq’s second-largest city in early June, is carrying out “religious cleansing.” “It’s an ugly word, but it is what happened and is happening,” he told Vatican Radio July 22. Iraq’s Christian leaders are tired of people making appeals... Read more

Obama administration to revise part of contraception rule

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

With everything else going on, somehow this news got buried. From The Wall Street Journal: The Obama administration said Tuesday it will revise a compromise arrangement for religiously affiliated universities and charities that object to providing contraception in workers’ health insurance plans, in response to a Supreme Court order earlier this month.A majority of Supreme Court justices granted Wheaton College, an Illinois Christian school, a temporary reprieve from contraception coverage requirements in the Affordable Care Act on July 3. That was days... Read more

Boom: America magazine announces expansion

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Having a Jesuit pope has evidently been very good for the venerable weekly. The announcement yesterday: Father Matt Malone, S.J., editor in chief of America, announced today the appointment of America correspondents in Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and Beijing. This first round of appointments is the latest move in the most dramatic expansion of America‘s domestic and international coverage in 30 years. “We are delighted to welcome this distinguished team of professional journalists and writers to America‘s masthead,” said Father Malone. “At a time when many... Read more