On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, ruled that women had a “right” to have an abortion in any state of the Union, under the Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution. Since that time, more than 55 million unborn babies have been killed in their mothers’ wombs. On January 22, 2015, tens of thousands of pro-life Americans will once again memorialize the tragic decision at the annual March For Life in our nation’s capitol. * * ... Read more
A few days ago my fellow Patheos blogger over at the Muslim Channel, Dilshad Ali, criticized Duke University in Durham, North Carolina for rescinding its permission to broadcast the Islamic adhan (call to prayer) from its Chapel tower. Dilshad wrote: For me, if Duke had decided this wasn’t a good thing to do from the very beginning, that would’ve been it. But to decide that the adhan would be called from the Bell Tower, then to withdraw that decision in 24 hours, well... Read more
On Friday, January 16, the U. S. Supreme Court agreed to consider whether marriage between two individuals of the same sex should be legal in all fifty states. The Justices will review a November 2014 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which upheld the constitutionality of marriage laws in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. That same day, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion... Read more
Breaking news January 15 in the suburbs of Detroit. According to WDIV-TV: Roseville police said an autopsy will be done on a newborn boy whose body was found Wednesday in a dumpster. Police said the newborn was found by workers who were sorting recyclables at the RE Community Recycling on Groesbeck. Police also said the newborn was estimated to be between one and three days old, and there were no visible signs of trauma to the newborn. Police also said trash and recyclables... Read more
Legatus, the international organization of Catholic CEOs, has completed the roster of speakers for its 2015 Annual Summit, scheduled for January 29-31 in Naples, Florida, after three notable speakers backed out under pressure from homosexual activists. Replacing the speakers who decided not to appear are three well-known conservative leaders: Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas Governor and former Fox News talk show host considered by many to be a possible contender in the next presidential election; Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic... Read more
This just out from CNN: A typhoon with winds approaching 75 miles per hour and heavy rain is approaching the Philippines–and heading right to where Pope Francis’ big outdoor Mass is supposed to be held on Saturday. The Mass is planned in Tacloban, where 6,300 people died in 2013 in Super Typhoon Haiyan. This year’s storm, Typhoon Mekkhala, has not been that fierce and is not expected to make landfall until two hours after the papal mass begins. Still, though,... Read more
One resource which I’ve found helpful as I scan the news each morning is Reddit’s subreddit for Catholics, /r/Catholicism. It’s not uncommon to find there a little jewel, a story that hasn’t been told anywhere else. But not next Thursday. The /r/Catholicism moderator has announced that next Thursday, January 22, the subreddit will be closed in observance of the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. Instead, they offer a list of ways that Catholics might consider spending... Read more
I adored th[e] simplicity—the absolute honesty and cleanness of science. I respected that it left no room for fantasy or for sloppy thinking. If a fact could be established as tangible and trustworthy, it was accepted. If not, then it was rejected. This approach left very little room for the soul and the spirit, for the continuing existence of a personality after the brain that supported it stopped functioning. It left even less room for those words I’d heard in... Read more
The French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, darling of the media since the unfortunate attack on its offices in Paris, continues to offend. In Charlie Hebdo‘s latest issue featuring the Prophet Mohammed, which has already sold five million copies, the editors mocked Pope Francis in an editorial. According to the Catholic Herald, the editorial in the new edition makes reference to protests by Femen, a radical feminist group that recently staged a topless protest in Notre Dame cathedral. The editorial said, “What... Read more
When Pope Francis visits the Philippines this week, the self-styled “Company of Priests With Families” holds hope that the pontiff will recognize them. According to Reuters, Father Jess Siva from the town of Lambunao, founder of the group, is one of at least five priests from the Archdiocese of Jaro and the neighboring Archdiocese of Bacolod who have abandoned the Church’s celibacy requirement and are raising families. In 1997 Silva officiated at the wedding of a fellow Catholic priest, Hector... Read more
Seasons of Grace
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