2016-09-30T15:58:33-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm   By

Archbishop Timothy Dolan has called the Crystal Cathedral “a blessing, not only to the Diocese of Orange, but to the entire Church in the United States, and an effective boost to the New Evangelization in our country.”  His high praise for what will become America’s newest Catholic cathedral came in a letter to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. November 3, 2012 was the first day that Catholic prayer filled the space, as the Magnificat Foundation—in... Read more

2016-09-30T15:58:33-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm   By

Just so you know:  I am tucking this into my big fat manila file of Really Sad Stories.  A man in China has sued his ex-wife for giving birth to what he called an “incredibly ugly” baby girl.  “I married my wife out of love,” Jian Feng told the Irish Times.  “But as soon as we had our first daughter, we began having marital issues.  Our daughter was incredibly ugly, to the point where it horrified me.”  At first, Feng... Read more

2016-09-30T15:58:34-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm   By

I was just a young child when I first visited the Shrine of the Little Flower.  My mother and sisters crowded into the car with our neighbors and drove to Royal Oak, Michigan for a pilgrimage of sorts.  We prayed a rosary at the outdoor shrine of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and we gasped at the sheer beauty of the church which bore her name. It wasn’t until years later that I came to appreciate the rich history of the... Read more

2015-07-02T10:07:56-05:00

Last updated on: July 2, 2015 at 10:07 am   By

Today I am proud to offer a guest post from Michael J. New, assistant professor of political science at the University of Michigan Dearborn and a regular columnist at the National Review Online. I met Michael just a few weeks ago quite by chance.  We found ourselves standing side by side on Telegraph Road in Dearborn Heights in a light drizzle, holding pro-life signs during the national Life Chain. After adhering to the Life Chain rules and standing in silent... Read more

2016-09-30T15:58:34-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm   By

On October 31, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI observed the 500th anniversary of the Sistine Chapel by offering a prayer—celebrating Vespers beneath Michelangelo’s famed frescoes of biblical stories including, most famously, the Creation of Adam. The Holy Father called the chapel a “liturgical classroom,” explaining that “It is as if during the liturgical action, the entire symphony of figures comes alive, certainly in the spiritual sense, but also…in the aesthetic sense. The Sistine Chapel, encompassed in prayer, is even more beautiful,... Read more

2016-09-30T15:58:34-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm   By

As the election nears, some in the liberal media are pointing an accusatory finger at Mitt Romney’s alleged “pro-life wiggle.”  He is, they claim, obscuring his stance in a shameless attempt to pander to women voters.  He’s all over the map, they allege—first saying he is pro-life, then refusing to consider legislation which would, in fact, limit the number of abortions. “Wiggle”? That’s why it’s great that Lifenews.com reprinted in its entirety a campaign letter in which Romney outlines his... Read more

2016-09-30T15:58:34-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm   By

Pope John Paul I, had he lived, would have been 100 years old on October 30, 2012. Bishop Albino Luciani had been Patriarch of Venice for nine years when he was elected to the papacy in 1978, succeeding the deceased Pope Paul VI.  He was quickly dubbed “The Smiling Pope,” popular with the public for his gentle disposition and winsome smile.  He took the name of Pope John Paul. But the new Pontiff served only 33 days in the papacy... Read more

2015-06-11T11:34:53-05:00

Last updated on: June 11, 2015 at 11:34 am   By

PREFACE Almost 500 years ago—on October 31, 1517—an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the Wittenberg door.  Looking ahead to the 500th anniversary of what is today called the Reformation, Lutheran and Evangelical churches are even now planning for a grand celebration to mark the date. According to the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the great Reformers—Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingli, Calvin and others—are among the prime sources of ideas in religious, political and intellectual history.  Anyway, that’s one... Read more

2016-09-30T15:58:34-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm   By

For Major League players, weekends are devoted to baseball—and it can be pretty difficult for a Catholic athlete to find time to attend Sunday Mass. But at Detroit’s Comerica Park, the athletes, stadium employees and journalists can attend Mass each weekend the Tigers play on the home field.  That’s because Comerica Park is one of 19 stadiums around the country to offer a Sunday liturgy. Father Ron Richards, pastor of St. John Neumann parish in Canton, Michigan, first proposed the... Read more

2016-09-30T15:58:34-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm   By

In May 2011, the Vatican held their first-ever Vatican Blogfest, bringing together 150 bloggers from around the world. On June 29, 2011—with a quick touch of his iPad—Pope Benedict launched the Vatican’s new, updated website, news.va. In November 2011, I reported about the extensive use  of social media at the U.S. Bishops’ Fall General Assembly—especially the fine reporting by the USCCB’s “Uber-Tweeter” Bishop Christopher Coyne. And in November 2012, the U.S. bishops will strengthen the bloggers’ relationship with the Church... Read more

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