2016-09-30T16:00:13-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

“Go ye therefore into all the nations, baptizing them in the name of Allah, his Messiah and his Holy Spirit.” In an over-reaching gesture of solidarity that boggles the mind, some mainline Christian organizations are changing their Holy Scriptures to avoid offending Muslims. Three well-known Christian translation organizations—Wycliffe Bible Translators, Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), and Frontiers—have decided that, rather than risk offending adherents of Islam, they should modify the Christian Bible to make it more palatable to nonbelievers. For... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:13-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

Just think of it:  How proud is the mother whose son chooses religious life!  To have a priest in the family—well, that’s just the bee’s knees. Imagine how it is, then, for 83-year-old Shirley Dolan.  Her son Timmy, oldest of five children born to Shirley and Bob Dolan of Ballwin, Missouri, has just been elevated to Cardinal!  Although Mrs. Dolan does admit that she wasn’t surprised—she’s known since he was five years old that this would happen. About two dozen... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:13-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

As you most surely know by now, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, is one of 22 incoming “Princes of the Church” who will be elevated to the dignity of Cardinal in a Consistory to be held on February 18, 2012. It is traditional for the Consistory to be held on February 22, the Feast of the Chair of Peter.  However, this year that feast happens to fall on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent; and the schedule had... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:13-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

  “Are church confessions safe?” – CBS Detroit “Can religious confessions be used against you?” – Detroit Free Press “Pastor-parishioner privilege?  Court of Appeals to hear arguments” – M-Live.com   All of the above headlines refer to a case which is being adjudicated this week by a three-judge Michigan Court of Appeals panel.  And all of them misunderstand at least some aspect of the Sacrament of Confession. Some Things to Know Up Front Confession (big “C”) is a Sacrament in... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:13-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

I haven’t written anything about the Obama “accommodation.”  For one thing, so many people out in the blogosphere published really effective articles—explaining, complaining, disdaining.  What new insight could I offer? And frankly, I’ve been just too crabby about the whole thing. But here’s something I’ve noticed:  While Obama holds his nose high and insists that the Catholic Church has no choice but to overlook its deeply held beliefs and just get over this whole “violation of conscience” thing, there are... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:13-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

Who knew? On February 11, 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed.   (Actually, the Treaty was ratified in June of that year—so I guess the date to pop open the chianti would be June 7.) Anyway, in case you’ve forgotten your European history, the Lateran Treaty established a comfortable working relationship between the Church (in this case, more exactly, Vatican City) and the State (in this case, Italy).  The Treaty was signed by Benito Mussolini representing the Italian government, and Cardinal Pietro... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:13-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

On February 11, Catholics celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.  We remember that on February 11, 1858, Mary appeared to a young peasant girl in a cave at Massabielle, just a mile from the French town of Lourdes.  Young Bernadette Soubirous called her simply “the Lady.”  In all, “the Lady” appeared to Bernadette 18 times that year.  One one occasion, Bernadette asked her who she was; and Mary’s answer was “I am the Immaculate Conception.”  Or, in French,... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:14-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

It seems there’s a little communications FAIL over at the Vatican. According to a Catholic News Agency report on February 8, a “Vatican insider” confided that the Pope does not own a private jet—that in fact, the Vatican had neither the space nor the money to maintain one.  Instead, he travels via commercial airlines—departing from Rome on Alitalia, and returning on a commercial airline based in the country he visited. Father Gonzalo Meza, a Mexican priest and journalist, confirmed that... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:14-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

As far as I know, Greg Hengler of Townhall was the first to shine the media spotlight on this poignant scene:  a YouTube video of Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, head bowed in prayer, standing as more than 100 Protestant pastors “laid hands on” him and prayed for him. The moment occurred yesterday morning during a campaign stop at a small chapel in McKinney, Texas, where Santorum spoke candidly about his faith and his family.  He spoke about his personal... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:14-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

This is short and to the point:  The Archdiocese of St. Louis’s new reminder of that fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, the freedom of conscience.     Read more

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