The Independent has a story about one mom’s decision to bar the use of technology in her family’s house for six months. Susan Maushart was becoming anxious about the amount of her time her three children spent transfixed by technology. Her son was hooked on his gaming console, one daughter was addicted to social networking … Read more
I knew that leprosy still existed in parts of Africa and India, but had no idea there were so many people living with it in China. According to Brian Palmer of Slate, the government no longer forces people with leprosy into isolation, but many small colonies remain: China has pledged to improve living conditions for … Read more
S.E. Cupp has a message in her New York Daily Post column for members of the New Atheist movement: This New Year, try some humility. Cupp says people like Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Bill Maher are “mean-spirited, radically unenlightened and uninterested in learning something new:” Though more than 95% of the world finds some … Read more
The Dallas Observer reports that a woman is suing Halliburton for allegedly being fired because of her pregnancy. This is from the court documents: In 2008, she was transferred to Texas and worked as an administrative associate in the dispatch office at the Alvarado Camp. Although a good, dedicated and productive employee, she was terminated … Read more
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa is the official preacher to the Papal household and his Christmas meditations this year focused on how we need to return to the methods and means of the apostles to evangelize. According to the The Catholic News Agency: The three meditations gave a response of faith, with the help of Blessed John … Read more
A little chapel in Wisconsin called Our Lady of Good Help has officially become the first site in the United States of a validated Marian apparition, according to the New York Times. In 1859, a Belgian immigrant named Adele Brise claims to have been visited by Mary three times. The Blessed Mother instructed Brise to devote her … Read more
It’s December 23rd, a little late for me to be throwing out gift ideas for Christmas. Then again, the celebration only just begins on the 25th, and then there’s the 12 days of Christmas and the feast of Epiphany. Plus, there’s something to be said for getting an early start on next year, right? When … Read more
The Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues (PNCI), a pro-life outreach to members of democratically-elected legislatures, reports that Lord Nicholas Windsor has described abortion as “the single most grievous moral deficit in contemporary life.” The great-grandson of King George V penned the essay “Caesar’s Thumb: Europeans should not forget their most pressing moral issue: abortion” in … Read more
The New York Times reported yesterday on Pope Benedict’s Christmas message to Vatican hierarchy in Rome where he spoke about the clergy sexual abuse crisis: Pope Benedict XVI said on Monday that the continuing sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church had reached a “degree we could not have imagined” this year, and that … Read more
This piece in Salon caught my attention yesterday. It’s written by an admittedly un-maternal woman who gives thanks for not getting her tubes tied. She didn’t want children and then surprisingly found herself pregnant and happily parenting. She lists a number of reasons why she and her partner had their son: We decided to have … Read more
If you want to irritate the heck out of me, send me a link to a story like this. Dick Thompson, a 72 year-old Iowan man, lives in a trailer on 32 acres of land that he purchased from his parents. He prefers simple living — no plumbing or electricity — and has a few … Read more
Sky News reports that the European Court of Human Rights has criticized the Dublin government for “leaving its courts with a lack of good information regarding lawful abortions in the country.” Three women known as A, B, and C have been fighting Ireland’s ban on abortion. In Ireland, abortion is only allowed if there is … Read more
It appears the jury is still out as to whether the Church has taken — or will take — a stand on genetically modified (GM) crops. At first it seemed the Vatican was for it. According to The Independent, a leaked document from a group of 40 scientists who are linked to the Pontifical Academy … Read more
The social aspect of religion, rather than theology or spirituality per se, is what makes religious people happy. That is, if you believe the news stories about the recent research reported in the American Sociological Review. However, if you look more closely at the study, led by Chaeyoon Lim, an assistant professor of sociology at … Read more
Each week of Advent I’m highlighting some gift ideas that IC readers might be interested in giving or getting. Here’s this week’s list: Last week I mentioned the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming and their wonderful coffee, but failed to highlight their popular Jingle Bell Java. The Anchoress admits she not only buys it for Christmas … Read more
There are two more days left of Hanukkah and in honor of that, here’s a modern twist on the story of the Maccabees. Happy Hanukkah to all of our Jewish readers! [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSJCSR4MuhU&feature=player_embedded#! 635×355] (Ht: Coffeemom)
If this article doesn’t make you want to pull your kids out of school and go find an igloo in the Arctic tundra, I don’t know what will. Writer Jan Hoffman highlights a ninth grade boy whose schoolmates secretly created a Facebook identity for him, making him into a bully and causing classmates and friends … Read more
CBS news reports that Hillary Clinton’s role as Secretary of State will be her “last public position”: At a town hall meeting appearance in Manama, Bahrain on Friday, Clinton denied intentions to run for either president or vice president on the ticket with President Obama, who defeated her in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. Some experts … Read more
I don’t know much about Moldova, except that it’s sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine and is the poorest country in Europe. Massive economic migration is creating an entire generation of parentless children. Thousands of working-age adults have fled the country to find work, leaving their children with older relatives or in shelters. In some villages … Read more
This thorny topic dovetails nicely with Jeff Tucker’s morning piece about transparency, leaks, and the new Missal… Bill O’Reilly recently called for the head of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange — or at least life in prison. Sarah Palin says he should be hunted like Bin Laden, and Hilary Clinton says he and his organization have endangered many … Read more