On First Day of Republican-Led Congress, New Bill May End Late-Term Abortion

Last updated on: January 11, 2015 at 3:47 pm By Kathy Schiffer

It begins! Today, as the first session of the new Congress gets underway, pro-life members introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that bans late-term abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. According to LifeNews.com: With Republicans controlling both the House and Senate, there is a guarantee that the important pro-life legislation will finally receive a vote in both chambers of Congress. In 2013, the House approved the bill on a 228-196 vote with 6 Democrats voting for the bill and 6 Republicans voting... Read more

African-American Bishop Speaks from Experience About Racism in America

Last updated on: January 11, 2015 at 3:48 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Bishop Edward K. Braxton has seen the ugly face of racism up close and personal–and so is uniquely qualified to speak out about Ferguson and other flashpoints in America’s racial history. This week Bishop Braxton, the bishop of Belleville, issued a pastoral letter on the racial divide in the United States. In the prologue of his letter published January 1, 2015, for the World Day of Peace, Bishop Braxton invited Catholics to imagine a United States in which a majority... Read more

Where’s Waldo? The Saint Who Lived in a Chestnut Tree

Last updated on: January 12, 2015 at 2:35 am By Kathy Schiffer

The dogs howled and growled, their low moans threatening as they circled the gnarled trunk of the old chestnut tree. Expecting to find a possum or a small mammal, the hunter hurried through the brush to claim his prize–but wait! The dogs seemed focused, not on the branches of the tree, but on a gaping hole in its side. There, inside the hollowed trunk, was… a man at prayer? No, wait… he was dead! It was a dead man, kneeling as... Read more

Dear Ms. Walker: You Are Not a Priest

Last updated on: January 10, 2015 at 1:11 pm By Kathy Schiffer

On Saturday, January 3 in Kansas City, Georgia Walker attempted to do what no woman had done before: She tried to become a Roman Catholic priest. And she’s got the pictures to prove it: Georgia smiling, arms raised in triumph, vested in red and white, processing down the aisle at St. Mark Hope and Peace Lutheran Church. Her friend, “Bishop” Bridget Mary Meehan, smiles proudly at her side. Attending the ceremony were members of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests,... Read more

Scott Hahn Hospitalized, Undergoes Surgery for Five Hernias

Last updated on: January 11, 2015 at 3:49 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Dr. Scott Hahn, theologian, author and Catholic apologist, has undergone a successful surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where a skilled medical team used laparoscopic incisions to access and repair five hernias. Dr. Hahn posted a personal message on his Facebook page, updating his followers regarding his condition: A brief update on a very recent development (Jan 2): Surgery went well. My good friend (and great surgeon), Dr. McKeating (the most admired by all the nurses), managed to... Read more

Today is “Divorce Day”? No, Please–Keep Trying!

Last updated on: January 11, 2015 at 3:50 pm By Kathy Schiffer

I was driving in the car when I heard this from a newscaster: Today, January 2, is known in the legal profession and among relationship counselors as “Divorce Day.” This day, according to some, is the perfect time to end a marriage that’s gone sour. That’s because it’s the day when couples in a troubled relationship are most likely to call it quits. One news source reports: According to experts, after months, or even years, of thinking about it, the tension... Read more

The Bible’s Inspiring Stories – In the Rose Bowl Parade

Last updated on: January 12, 2015 at 2:37 am By Kathy Schiffer

On New Year’s Day, chances are you were among the 450 million television viewers watching the Rose Bowl and, before that, the Rose Bowl Parade. The theme for the 2015 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade was “Inspiring Stories”–and the seventh float in the line-up celebrated the most inspiring story of all. The float designed and constructed by Lutheran Hour Ministries, the only Christian float in the Parade, was named “The Bible … God’s Story.” It featured an open Bible, a nativity scene,... Read more

“I’m So Catholic” – A Little Fun to Begin the New Year

Last updated on: January 1, 2015 at 2:21 pm By Kathy Schiffer

I don’t know who these people are, but wouldn’t producing something like this be fun for a youth group? Kudos! Read more

“God Is Saving and Protecting Us” –Passenger Who Skipped Doomed Flight

Last updated on: January 12, 2015 at 2:39 am By Kathy Schiffer

Sunday evening, Inge Goreti Ferdiningsih and her family went to church to give thanks for the gift of life. Nine months earlier, Goreti and her husband, Chandra Susanto, had booked a family vacation for the couple and their children Christopher 10, Nadine, 7, and Felix, 5. The family planned to travel to Singapore, where they would take a trip aboard a local cruise ship, splash at a water park, and watch the animals perform at Sea World. But then Chandra’s father was... Read more

HarperCollins Takes Israel Off the Map in School Atlases (UPDATED)

Last updated on: December 31, 2014 at 5:18 pm By Kathy Schiffer

Students attending English-speaking schools in the Muslim-majority Gulf region will learn geography from Atlases which do not include the nation of Israel. In the Middle East version of the Atlas, Jordan and Syria extend all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. Including Israel, says the publisher’s map-publishing subsidiary Collins Bartholomew, would have been “unacceptable” to their customers in the Gulf. Instead, maps in the new version incorporate “local preferences.” While Israel is not shown on the map, it does include the West... Read more