 What sort of people take part in Catholic Volunteer Services? How does volunteering affect their lives? The short answer is good people, whose lives are enhanced by the experience. Read more
 What sort of people take part in Catholic Volunteer Services? How does volunteering affect their lives? The short answer is good people, whose lives are enhanced by the experience. Read more
 Latin is an excellent way to learn English. Does that sound counter-intuitive? It’s based on my own experience of studying Latin. I don’t know that I learned much Latin, but the study of it taught me the English language inside out. Studying Latin was a beneficial activity for me that I do not regret in the least. Nothing gets arguments going like the subject of the Catholic Church and Latin. I’ve seen remarkably exaggerated comments from people on both... Read more
 Cardinal Dolan is stepping down as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. I imagine that he has mixed feelings about this. On the on the one hand, an enormous amount of responsibility, as well as the stress of being the public face of the Catholic Church in America, will be lifted off him. On the other hand, he’s so good at it, that he’s bound to enjoy it. I’m sure that after he steps down, he... Read more
 After all the hullaballoo, it turns out that the Vatican is not seeking input from the laity about it teachings, procedures, or anything else. The survey the Vatican announced a week ago is designed to collect raw data at the diocesan level. It is not, as the popular press implied, a poll of the laity on Church doctrine and discipline. The data will be used as a resource in the 2014 Synod. I’ve seen the survey, and I hope... Read more
 Will Illinois create discrimination in the name of ending discrimination? Illinois’ bill redefining marriage to include same-sex “marriages,” is on the governor’s desk, awaiting his signature. Proponents of the bill say that ti will end discrimination against homosexuals. Others are concerned that a lack of exemptions for individuals and small business owners, including one-owner businesses, will allow coercion and a violation of these citizen’s basic right to religious freedom. One thing that is commonly (and I think, deliberately) overlooked... Read more
 President Obama has used his mighty law-making pen to require all insurance carriers to provide coverage for mental health treatment and addiction in the same manner as they do physical illnesses. This is part of a package of regulations designed to stop the mass shootings this country has experienced. The proponents of this action say that it will not result in a large increase in the cost of health care coverage. I do not believe that. I think it... Read more
The Supreme Court heard arguments this week on whether or not the town of Greece NY had violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The reason?  Most of the prayers that opened its city council meetings were given by Christians. From what I’ve read, Greece opened its city council meetings with prayers from many faiths through the years, including Jewish and pagans. The argument is that most of the prayers were offered... Read more
 Prayer is a conversation. Prayer is an action. Prayer is friendship, love, companionship and trust. It is not a performance or a recipe you must follow to “get it right.” I’ve read a trove of books and articles about prayer down through the years, all of them well-meaning, and none of them either wrong or right. The authors of these books and articles seek to give Christians instructions or a methodology for doing prayer right. The most common advice... Read more
Prayer is a conversation. Prayer is an action. Prayer is friendship, love, companionship and trust. It is not a performance or a recipe you must follow to “get it right.” I’ve read a trove of books and articles about prayer down through the years, all of them well-meaning, and none of them either wrong or right. The authors of these books and articles seek to give Christians instructions or a methodology for doing prayer right. The most common advice is... Read more
 Sweetie doesn’t suffer because of what these men do. However, your daughter will. Webcam sex tourism is the name given to the action of pedophiles who use the computer to hire children to participate in on-line sex with them. Sweetie is a computer-generated avatar that the non-profit organization Terre des Homes has used to gather the names of over 1,000 pedophiles which they have since turned over to the police. Sweetie may look like a little girl, but she... Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In