No Place in the Church for the Catholic Bloggers?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Did Pope Francis really say that there is no place in the Church for Catholic bloggers? Um…. No. Apparently, though, Britain’s Archbishop Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, has tried to make it seem as though the pontiff doesn’t want us Catholic bloggers around. According to British writer William Oddie, the archbishop quoted Pope Francis, then skillfully manipulated the Pope’s remarks to make it seem that Pope Francis didn’t much appreciate the Catholic bloggers, suggesting that they are nothing more than... Read more

Will Blessed Pope John Paul II Be Canonized on October 22?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

The medical council charged with reviewing a possible miraculous healing attributable to Pope John Paul II has ruled it “inexplicable” and has forwarded the file to the Vatican Congregation for the Saints for further study. According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, the canonization of Karol Wojtyla is moving forward and may happen as early as October 2013. The proceedings have been conducted in secrecy; but Andrea Tornielli, reporting from Vatican City, reported: In January, the postulator of the cause,... Read more

Jesus Is So Much Better Than Fabric Softener

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Oh, not again. It seems that Jesus has popped up again—this time in Great Britain, and this time revealing Himself in the laundry. I really don’t like to criticize someone’s earnest faith experience; but the Laundry Softener Jesus or Chicago’s greasy Our Lady of the Underpass don’t really build faith, so much as they make a laughing stock of Christian belief. Guys like the unbelievers over at Patheos’ atheist portal read stories like this, and they mistakenly paint all Christians... Read more

HOPE FOUNDED IN FAITH: The World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Ask a tourist what is the most familiar statue in St. Peter’s Basilica, and he’s likely to cite Michelangelo’s Pieta. Then, of course, there is the statue of St. Peter, its toe worn smooth by the kisses of devoted pilgrims, and the 140 saints on the colonnade overlooking St. Peter’s Square. Less obvious, though, are the saints who are honored on the outer walls of the Basilica, where marble statues stand in niches. Some, on the rear walls of the... Read more

Martin Luther on Copernicus

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

“People give ear to an upstart astrologer who strove to show that the earth revolves, not the heavens or the firmament, the sun and the moon. Whoever wishes to appear clever must devise some new system, which of all systems is of course the very best. This fool wishes to reverse the entire science of astronomy.” – Martin Luther on Copernicus, 1543. Hmmm…. Read more

The Catholic Mom’s Lament: “There’s No Time to Pray!”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

My story is every mother’s story: My children are grown, but oh, how I remember those days of math homework and spelling bees, Cub Scouts and softball practice, teacher conferences and playdates and lunch on the run…. Some days, it seemed there was barely enough time to throw dinner on the table before rushing off to one more event in our school-centered lives. How could I ever find the time for meaningful prayer? That’s why it was such an honor... Read more

Gosnell TweetFest Forces Hand of Media Elite

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Seven counts of murder. Medical malpractice. Racism. Failure of governmental agencies to protect the health of citizens. THIS IS A BIG STORY, RIGHT? But a full month into the sensational trial of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, there was little or no coverage in the mainstream media. ABC, NBC and CBS had never told the story. CNN had done just one short report about the “house of horrors” abortionist who murdered newborn infants by snipping their spinal cords with a scissors and endangering the lives... Read more

Pope-emeritus Benedict’s Birthday Portrait

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI turns 86 today—and at a party in his honor, the German Embassy to the Holy See is unveiling a new portrait of the former pontiff. The painting is the work of German artist Michael Triegel, nicknamed “Pabstmaler” or “Pope Painter”. TRIEGEL’S EARLY CAREER The award-winning Michael Triegel began his career in 1987 as a graphic artist; but in what he described as a “second birth” in a Roman church, he experienced an artistic awakening which refocused his... Read more

Bar Codes in the Darnedest Places!

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

When I was a child, we played with chalk. We signed our names, we sketched daisies and diamonds and puppy dogs. Left to our own devices on carefree summer days, we personalized our world. Like the raucous undergrads who sneaked out and painted The Rock on Washtenaw Avenue, near the University of Michigan campus, we altered our environment simply to show that We. Were. There. But in 2012, sidewalk chalk has been trumped by a new, technological signature: the QR code. QR... Read more

The Religious and the Excremental: Holy Sh*t

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:55 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Melissa Mohr seems to have hit the jackpot with her new book Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing. Right at the offset, she pulls in a generous five stars on Amazon for her exhaustive compendium of trash talk, in which she chronicles the history of vulgarity regarding human sexual organs and various human excreta. I DON’T GET IT. Operating on the theme of “So many books, so little time”, I can’t see spending another quarter-hour immersed in the analysis... Read more