Wasn’t I there just a few weeks ago? (Yes!) I’m about to head out the door for LaGuardia, again, so blogging may be light over the next couple days. I’m headed to the lovely campus of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I’ll be the keynote speaker at the annual gathering of deacons for the National Diaconate Institute of Continuing Education (NDICE). I’m also giving a couple talks Monday on a subject I know nothing about: preaching. Pray for me.... Read more
Details: President Barack Obama plans to sign two executive orders Monday prohibiting discrimination against gay and transgender workers in the federal government and its contracting agencies, without a new exemption that was requested by some religious organizations. Obama’s action comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Hobby Lobby case that allowed some religiously oriented businesses to opt out of the federal health care law’s requirement that contraception coverage be provided to workers at no... Read more
From AP: The German Bishops’ Conference says the number of Germans leaving the Roman Catholic church jumped sharply last year, an apparent result of an uproar over a bishop’s lavish new residence. The conference said Friday that 178,805 people formally left the church in 2013, compared with 118,335 the previous year. The figure was just short of the 181,000 people who quit the church in 2010 amid a scandal over sexual abuse by clergy. Pope Francis permanently removed Franz-Peter Tebartz-van... Read more
Yep. Great story about a remarkable man, whose legacy has been dubbed “the stuff of legend in Kenya”: In 2012, David Rudisha, a Masai warrior from Kenya, ran what many say was the greatest race in the history of the Olympics. He led the 800m final from the front and smashed his own world record, becoming the first man ever to run under 1.41. In the words of Seb Coe, ‘Bolt was good, Rudisha was magnificent.’ In interviews after the... Read more
A reader sent this my way this morning. Grab a Kleenex and watch. Want to learn more? Read about Tim at his restaurant website. God love him. Read more
A colleague forwarded to me this tweet. Read more
The video below is part of a bold new campaign to raise awareness about homelessness. It packs a punch. Just watch. Details: Impact Homelessness believes its message of compassion and understanding can prompt positive change. “Since the recession began, the face of homelessness has been changing,” the organization’s Facebook page reads. “From school children to the elderly, from the barely employed to the victims of abuse … homelessness can affect anyone … unless we all come together to make a difference.”... Read more
From The Tennessean: They gathered in the little chapel at St. Ignatius of Antioch, lit by stained-glass abstracts capturing the setting sun, ready to experience something outside the bounds of Mass. Some strummed guitars; others grabbed maracas and tambourines from a basket and joined in; still others quietly paged through Bibles brought from home. After each song came shouts of “We praise you! We glorify your holy name!” One man dropped to his knees, palms facing upward, whispering “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”... Read more
Details: Three nuns of the Institute of the Word Incarnate working with the Catholic Holy Family parish in Gaza are preparing to leave the Gaza Strip following multiple Israeli air strikes Wednesday evening that destroyed a neighbor’s home. According to the Catholic news agency Fides, the sisters, all foreigners, received a telephone call from the Israelis advising them to leave. Meanwhile, for several days now, the Sisters of Mother Teresa and the 28 disabled children and 9 elderly people in... Read more
Details: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse “stands at the ready” to help temporarily house migrant children from Central America who are awaiting deportation hearings, Bishop Robert J. Cunningham said today. In an open letter to the community, Cunningham said the Diocese of Syracuse would be a willing partner to help take care of the children. The U.S. Department of Health and Human services is considering former convents and the former Maria Regina College owned by the Sisters of St. Francis on... Read more
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