Imagine you’re expecting a baby, and you’ve just learned that your child will have Down syndrome. Would you be afraid? This video is making the rounds on the Internet this week, in anticipation of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21. The ad was developed in response to a letter sent to CoorDown, Italy’s national organization for people with Down syndrome, from a young mother who had just learned of a fetal abnormality, and who worries what life will be... Read more
Last night on Comedy Central, trash-talking atheist comedian Bill Maher spouted a blasphemy so egregious, I am dumbfounded. God, the controversial satirist said, is a “psychotic mass murderer” who drowns babies. Maher was talking about the new movie Noah, which stars Russell Crowe in the title role. Maher is no fan of the movie, nor of the biblical story on which it is based. He thinks the story is not only made up but also “immoral.” “It’s about a... Read more
Man is like a pomegranate: Inside he contains many tiny fleshy seeds, like the many elements of creation. God mixed them all together and breathed into them the breath of life. That was the message from Monsignor Angelo De Donatis to Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia this week, as he led them in meditation and prayer on the third day of their Lenten Retreat. L’Osservatore Romano reported that to explain his metaphor, Msgr. De Donatis had with... Read more
Yesterday Pope Francis celebrated the first anniversary of his election to the pontificate by praying with members of the Roman Curia at the Casa Divin Maestro in Ariccia, outside Rome. Back home at the Vatican, though, folks were busy loading this commemorative flip-book onto the Vatican’s website. Do We Want to Become Holy? Yes or No? is available in six languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. The title is derived from a question Pope Francis posed to the crowds gathered... Read more
I have been smiling my way through Monsignor Richard Soseman’s book, Reflections from Rome: Practical Thoughts on Faith and Family. I‘m just sorry–so sorry!–that I didn’t tell you about it earlier, before Lent began; but you know, it’s not too late to add it to your repertoire during this season of reflection and renewal! I first met Monsignor Soseman (“Mons” is his on-line handle) in May 2011, when I was in Rome attending the Vatican Blogfest. Mons, a priest from... Read more
What do you think Pope Francis would say to the U.S. Congress? Today, on the one-year anniversary of Pope Francis’ election to the papacy, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has invited the pope to address a joint session of Congress next September, during the pope’s anticipated visit to the United States. Boehner, who extended the invitation in his capacity as the constitutional officer of Congress, represented both House and Senate leaders in making the request. Shortly after the announcement, House... Read more
A coalition of Catholic employers has filed a new lawsuit against the federal government, demanding that they be excluded from the HHS Mandate. The Catholic Business Association, one of the plaintiffs in the case, represents nearly 200 Catholic dioceses, agencies and businesses which together employ more than 19,000 staff nationwide. The CBA objects to providing health insurance which includes coverage for contraceptives and abortions. The association explains that the so-called “compromise” does nothing to protect the conscience rights of Roman Catholic... Read more
I have just soaked up all the beauty and the mystery of “Arms Wide Open”, a breathtaking on-line photo story from BBC News about Rio de Janeiro’s famed statue of Christ the Redeemer. Words fail. I can’t do justice to the dramatic photography and the full backstory for Cristo Redentor, the iconic sculpture which overlooks Brazil’s poor in the favelas, the rich in the luxury high-rise apartments, the homeless, the famous football stadiums and Guanabara bay with its scattered islands and boats.... Read more
Monsignor Tomáš Halík, professor at Charles University in Prague, has been named winner of the 2014 Templeton Prize for religious and spiritual progress. Monsignor Halík, who has taught sociology of religion since 1997, is a convert to Catholicism and cites as influences in his life Mother Teresa, first recipient of the Templeton Prize in 1973, and Catholic novelist Graham Greene. He is a onetime Czech political activist and an advocate for religious freedom in Czechoslovakia. He has worked to build bridges between people... Read more
‘Til death do us part? In these days of marriage equality, men can marry men; a woman can marry a warehouse or a bridge or a corporation; so why can’t a woman marry a dead guy? Now, a French woman is planning to do just that. Michel died two years ago of a heart attack; but his fiancee, Pascale, is ever the romantic–and the lovebirds will soon be wed with the express permission of French President François Hollande. Charisma News explains the... Read more
Seasons of Grace
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In