Cardinal Edward Egan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York, Goes Home to God

Last updated on: March 5, 2015 at 5:27 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Cardinal Edward Egan, former archbishop of New York, has died today in Manhattan at the age of 82. According to archdiocesan spokesman Joseph Zwilling, the cardinal died of cardiac arrest at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan. Cardinal Egan was spiritual leader of the 2.5 million Catholics in the archdiocese of New York from 2000 through 2009. According to the New York Times, “In February of 2009, the pope announced that Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of Milwaukee had been selected... Read more

Catholic Media Unite in Opposition to the Death Penalty

Last updated on: March 6, 2015 at 7:00 am By Kathy Schiffer

‘Capital Punishment Must End.’ That’s the bold headline in the National Catholic Register this morning. The Register, in a groundbreaking collaboration with three other Catholic journals, published a strong statement opposing capital punishment. The editorial boards of the Register, the National Catholic Reporter, Our Sunday Visitor and America joined in opposition to the death penalty, as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in Glossip v. Gross, a case out of Oklahoma that challenges the most widely used lethal injection protocol as being cruel and unusual punishment.... Read more

CALL NO MAN FATHER: At Facebook, Priests – NO; Cross-Dressers – YES.

Last updated on: March 5, 2015 at 6:50 am By Kathy Schiffer

Last month, the social media giant Facebook cracked down on Catholic clergy, aggressively implementing its longstanding policy which forbids the use of titles or honorifics, forcing priests to remove the title “Father” before their user profile names. The policy is not new; The “Identity and Privacy” policy on Facebook’s webpage explains: On Facebook people connect using their real names and identities. In the Help Center, there’s a longer explanation of that policy (emphasis mine): Facebook is a community where people... Read more

1,000 Facts About the Bible for Kids

Last updated on: March 3, 2015 at 7:20 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Just in time for Easter giving: A great new picture book from National Geographic! 1,000 Facts About the Bible offers a plethora of fun facts that children (and everyone else) will enjoy learning: about angels and art, food and fashion, apostles and prophets and personalities from the Bible. One caution for parents: 1,000 Facts About the Bible is NOT a devotional. You won’t find evening prayers, or tips for obeying your parents, or a list of important Marian... Read more

Prayers for Cardinal George, Hospitalized Once Again

Last updated on: March 3, 2015 at 1:49 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Cardinal Francis George, retired archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago, is back in the hospital. I’ve kept you posted in the past regarding the state of his health, after cancer metastasized from his bladder to his kidney and liver, then recurred in his right kidney. The cardinal himself has acknowledged that this disease will eventually claim his life; but in the meantime, he has continued to be an inspiration to countless followers who admire his calm acceptance and faith in this, his greatest... Read more

“The Drop Box” Is a Great Film; And Soon, It May Be a Reality in Indiana

Last updated on: March 2, 2015 at 9:09 pm By Kathy Schiffer

“The Drop Box” will be opening in theaters tomorrow for a limited three-day engagement. You really should try to see the film, which tells the story of South Korean pastor Lee Jong-rak’s efforts to save babies who might otherwise be abandoned on the streets. Pastor Lee builds a “drop box”, a rudimentary wooden box with a bell, in the wall of his home in Seoul, South Korea. There, mothers can place their babies knowing that their own identity will remain anonymous, and... Read more

The Didache Bible: An Outstanding New Resource for Understanding God’s Word

Last updated on: March 10, 2015 at 10:02 am By Kathy Schiffer

The Didache Bible arrived on my doorstep recently, and it’s quickly become my new go-to source for Everything You Could Ever Want to Know About the Scriptures. I’m a collector of books, and I count on my shelves about 30 different editions of the Bible. A Parallel Bible, a Children’s Bible, Study Bibles, a Christian Women’s Bible, an African American Bible…. Each contains the word of God, of course, but each adds something–commentaries, reflections, meditations, artwork–intended to enhance the reader’s understanding... Read more

Leaning Tower of Pizza? Romans Get a Laugh at ISIS’ Expense

Last updated on: March 1, 2015 at 7:42 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Radicals from the Islamic State (ISIS) have threatened to overthrow Rome and toss homosexuals from the Leaning Tower of Pizza. Apparently, the Islamists don’t realize that the tower in question is actually in the Italian town of Pisa, and that there is no food involved. The Italians, though, have taken the slip-up as an opportunity to mock ISIS over on Twitter, with great memes like this: Some, like Guido Tresoldi, noted that they had also enjoyed too much pizza, and... Read more

This Heavy Snow Is a Mess for People–But Just Think How Bad It Is for Churches!

Last updated on: February 28, 2015 at 9:36 pm By Kathy Schiffer

The storms of 2015 are hard on parishes which are buried in snow! You heard it directly from the bishop: On February 13, as Snowmageddon, that most fearsome of storms, approached the Northeastern U.S., Bishop Thomas J. Tobin told Catholics in the Diocese of Providence to stay home from Sunday Mass if driving conditions were dangerous. And conditions have been so dangerous! What with the frigid temperatures, the icy roads and the piled snow, many people who attend Mass regularly have been... Read more

CORRECTION re. Basilian Father Timothy Scott

Last updated on: February 28, 2015 at 2:30 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Mea culpa. A few days ago, I reported that Father Timothy Scott had been removed from his position as spokesperson for the Basilian Fathers, after an offensive tweet against Cardinal Raymond Burke. I had taken that information from several blogs and articles which were circulating on the Internet, showing the tweet and demanding that Father Scott be removed from his post. Yesterday I learned that the story was not completely factual. The “guts” of the story–that Father Scott tweeted... Read more