The see-saw has tipped again in Michigan’s volatile same-sex marriage brouhaha. Michigan’s Republican Governor Rick Snyder announced today that the state will not recognize the more than 300 same-sex marriages which took place last weekend. Governor Snyder acknowledged that the marriages were legal. However, the state will not recognize the benefits of the same-sex marriages, until release of the stay which was imposed the following day by an appeals court. * * * *... Read more
Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, bishop of Limburg, “cannot, at the present moment, continue to exercise his episcopal ministry.” That was the ruling today from the Vatican regarding the controversial “Bishop of Bling” following months of embarrassing revelations on his lavish spending for a new residence. And yes, it was a justifiable concern: The Limburg bishop’s new digs cost an estimated €31 million ($43 million in U.S. dollars). Vatican Insider reports: A Vatican statement issued by the Holy See Press Office... Read more
Whatever happened to Confession? A generation ago, Catholics lined up on Saturday afternoon to take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation at their local parish. Nowadays, not so much. CARA, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, asked Catholics in 2005 and again in 2008 about the frequency with which they took advantage of the sacrament. The results were discouraging: Only 2 percent of self-identified Catholics went to Confession once a more or more... Read more
A month ago, I told you that the World Meeting for Families would bring people from around the world to Philadelphia in September 2015. And two weeks ago, I told you that the Holy Father had been invited to address a joint session of Congress during his expected U.S. trip. I added that Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput would lead a delegation to Rome from Philadelphia, including Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. The group will meet personally with... Read more
A PRAYERFUL TRADITION Atop Mount Adams, the highest point in Cincinnati, Ohio, stands Holy Cross Immaculata Church. Overlooking the downtown area and the Ohio River, it is a beacon of faith to local Catholics. On Good Friday, pilgrims from the local community and around the world flock to the historic church for a 150-year-old tradition called “Praying the Steps.” From midnight on Holy Thursday until midnight on Good Friday, more than 10,000 pilgrims climb the long winding staircase to the... Read more
As a deacon, my husband reads the Gospel at Mass each Sunday. This morning before we left the house he stared at me, a sort of “deer in headlights” stare, and said, “Today’s Gospel is REALLY long!” And indeed, it was. At 775 words, the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well may be the longest Gospel reading except for the readings of the Passion during Holy Week. I found this rendition of “Jesus Met a... Read more
Late in the day on Friday, March 21, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman overturned the 2004 voter-approved Michigan Marriage Amendment. In his ruling, the judge said that Michigan’s prohibition on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution, and he ordered the state to stop enforcing the ban. Judge Friedman wrote: “Today’s decision … affirms the enduring principle that regardless of whoever finds favor in the eyes of the most recent majority, the guarantee of equal protection must prevail.” The court order was... Read more
In Spring a young man’s fancy turns to…. vasectomies?? You may have seen something of this in the news this week. Apparently, some urologists have noted as much as a 50% increase in the number of vasectomies scheduled during or just before NCAA basketball’s MARCH MADNESS tournament. The reasoning is this: If you’re going to be lounging around on the couch for a couple of days anyway, eyes glued to the television screen watching college basketball, why not have that vasectomy... Read more
A clinic where infamous abortionist Kermit Gosnell once reportedly killed born-alive infants has been given new life. Gosnell has been stripped of his medical license and imprisoned with no chance of parole, after being found guilty of three murder charges, 21 felony count of illegal late-term abortion, and 211 counts of violating the 24-hour informed consent law. The former Philadelphia abortionist waived his right of appeal, in exchange for an agreement not to seek the death penalty. The Grand Jury report... Read more
A sad story from Boulancourt, France, south of Paris, where a father has been given just a tap on the wrist for smothering his disabled daughter with a pillow: Americo Carneiro, weary of caring for his special-needs daughter, tiptoed into six-year-old Johana’s room on January 3, 2011. Finding his daughter asleep in her bed, Carneiro pinched his nose and with his other hand covered the girl’s mouth, suffocating her to death. On March 21, 2014, a jury in the Assize Court of... Read more
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