Pope’s Upcoming Encyclical: “Praise Be to You”?

Last updated on: May 30, 2015 at 9:35 pm By Kathy Schiffer

The word is out: Pope Francis’ upcoming encyclical on the environment may be titled “Laudato sii” (Praise Be to You).The phrase is drawn from the first line of the Canticle of the Creatures by St. Francis of Assisi, Italy’s oldest known literary text. Vatican Insider reports that the tentative title has been reported in two media outlets: According to ANSA, the leading wire service in Italy, the news came from Fr. Giuseppe Costa, director of the Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV), the Vatican... Read more

The Amazing Catholic Art at Anti-Catholic Bob Jones University

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist Protestant university in Greenville, South Carolina, is downright unfriendly toward Catholics. Can I prove that? Well, shortly after the death of Pope Paul VI in 1978, Bob Jones, Jr., son of the founder and chancellor of the university, published an article in the school’s magazine, Faith for the Family, which begins: “Pope Paul VI, archpriest of Satan, a deceiver and an anti-Christ, has, like Judas, gone to his own place.” Catholic Answers tells the whole... Read more

Is the Holy Spirit Really God? The Trinity, As Defined by Constantinople

Last updated on: May 29, 2015 at 12:32 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Sunday, May 31 is Trinity Sunday–or, more formally, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. In honor of the feast, I thought I’d chat a bit about the Trinity–what that means, and when the concept of a God Who is “Three-in-One” was officially defined. That happened when the Church was young–more than two hundred years before the books of the Bible were finalized by the Orthodox at the Second Council of Trullan in 692. (The Catholic scriptures, while generally agreed... Read more

Sneak Peek: CARA’s Upcoming Study on Global Catholicism Trends

Last updated on: May 29, 2015 at 11:00 am By Kathy Schiffer

On Monday, CARA–the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University–will release a new study on Global Catholicism trends/forecast. While we wait, they offer the following preview via Twitter: Check out the full report (and a whole lot more) Monday, June 1 on 1964, CARA’s always-interesting research blog. I’m looking forward to reading the full report on Monday. In the meantime, this gives you pause for thought: We have a lot of work to do here in America! Read more

Clemson’s Dabo Swinney Capitulates to Bullies, Will Not Attend Palmetto Event in His Honor

Last updated on: May 28, 2015 at 8:50 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Dabo Swinney, coach of Clemson University’s football team, will not attend an award ceremony next week honoring him for his support of religious freedom. The Palmetto Family Council, a South Carolina nonprofit organization, planned to honor Swinney as a “defender of religious liberty” in the “Celebrating Families 2015” event at the beautiful Seibels House and Garden in Columbia, SC, on June 2. In choosing Coach Swinney as this year’s recipient, the Palmetto Family Council praised his accomplishments, specifically the great work of his... Read more

Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee: No Pro-Life License Plates in NY

Last updated on: May 26, 2015 at 6:53 am By Kathy Schiffer

If you are pro-life in New York, you’d better keep it to yourself. That’s because the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has just overturned a lower court’s decision which permitted the adoption advocacy group Children First Foundation to include the words “Choose Life” on its license plates. It appears that the plates may, in the court’s opinion, encourage road rage. John Burger writes, over at Aleteia: According to Judge Rosemary Pooler, who wrote the majority opinion in The Children First... Read more

Christ Was at Mass Today (A Guest Post by Deal W. Hudson)

Last updated on: May 26, 2015 at 6:19 am By Kathy Schiffer

Thank you so much to Deal Hudson, who generously granted permission for me to carry his post on my blog. I can’t agree more–and I wouldn’t have said it as well! * * * * CHRIST WAS AT MASS TODAY: A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT By Deal W. Hudson WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) – My wife, also a Catholic convert, has said several times over the years, “The Church makes it so hard to be a... Read more

Lieut. Bill Funchess, Former POW, Remembers His Friend Fr. Emil Kapaun

Last updated on: May 25, 2015 at 2:29 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Lieutenant William Funchess leaned forward in his chair, recounting a story he’s told many times before–a story of harsh beatings and cold nights, long marches and cruel guards, and the friendship of one humble priest. Funchess is older now, but his memories of the three years he spent in the Pyoktong prison camp during the Korean War are clear. He talked with me in his home in Clemson, South Carolina, sharing stories of stealing food and melting snow to supplement the... Read more

Blogger Rebecca Hamilton’s Coming to Southeastern Michigan!

Last updated on: May 25, 2015 at 8:58 am By Kathy Schiffer

Oh my gosh, did I forget to mention this? For the first time ever, Rebecca Hamilton–author of the popular Public Catholic blog here on Patheos and a former legislator in the Oklahoma House of Representatives–is coming to Southeastern Michigan. Rebecca will be the keynote speaker at Mother and Unborn Baby Care’s spring benefit dinner this Thursday, May 28. Her story will touch your heart: Not always a pro-life Catholic, Rebecca was the first Director of NARAL (the National Abortion Rights... Read more