…then the basilica must go to the parishioners. That’s the theory of the Diocese of Buffalo, anyway: Rather than let one of their closed churches stand empty (or be turned into a restaurant or apartments), they want to ship it piece by piece to a congregation in Georgia that needs one: When Father David Dye … Read more
I can’t believe this video has been out for a year, and I hadn’t seen it before yesterday. Some fiscally-sensible film makers at the Commonwealth Foundation created a heart-pumping (honestly) look at the history of federal spending in the 20th and 21st centuries. It’s the best overview of the issue I’ve seen anywhere. Turn the … Read more
In the response the CCHD sent to me yesterday, there was no mention of the incontrovertible evidence that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers belongs to coalitions publicly supporting abortion. As I pointed out in my article, this is in direct violation of the new CCHD Ethical Guidelines. The CCHD instead focused on an issue about the participation of … Read more
The Reform CCHD Coalition Now received confirmation on Monday that Chicago’s CCHD had retracted grants previously promised to pro-life groups. With the departure of Rey Flores as CCHD director, a group of Chicago clergy have been publicly exerting pressure on the archdiocese to restrict grants to only “anti-poverty” organizations. These clergy don’t accept the argument that the lack of … Read more
The Catholic Church in America is short of exorcists — there may only be 5 or 6 in the entire nation. While the office had been all but forgotten in the years following Vatican II, contemporary need is bringing it back in a big way, and some of the bishops are responding: Bishops in America … Read more
There are few things more enjoyable than watching a two-year-old immersing himself (literally) in the first snow-fall of the season. Here in Lander, the eagerly-anticipated event finally took place yesterday morning – much later than our previous Wyoming Winter Experiences would suggest.  While the four older boys were eager to get outside and “flounder … Read more
Switzerland’s Capuchin monks are getting desperate for vocations, so they recently placed a quarter-page ad in a premier business magazine looking for new recruits. According to The Independent: The ad appeared in the “banking and insurance” section of Saturday’s edition of Alpha. It calls on young Catholic “bankers, journalists, teachers, theologians, tradesmen, lawyers and communication … Read more
An article in the New York Times explains the risky business of scientific research, where “there are far fewer hits than misses” when it comes to research grants ever paying off. One of the biggest offenders? Embryonic stem cell research. Stem cell researchers have created an illusion of progress by claiming regular advances in the 12 years … Read more
Anyone who has read my many posts and columns on the Holy Land and the political struggle between Israel and Palestine knows I have reservations about the Israeli treatment of Palestinian Christians in particular and those who inhabit the West Bank in general. I have consistently argued for the necessity of a two-state solution whereby … Read more
On Saturday, an old stone house collapsed in Pompeii. The building had been closed to the public, but was known for the beautiful gladiator frescos on its interior walls. Historians believe this was the place gladiators trained and relaxed before fighting. According to the Telegraph, the Italian government has been criticized for allowing Pompeii to … Read more
Over at First Things, David Mills tells the poignant story of his father’s death — one that, by any modern standard, would have been considered humiliating and undignified. It wasn’t pretty, Mills admits, but he says that his father’s willing acceptance of his circumstances was more “dignified” than any easy way out: This is what … Read more
Mollie Ziegler at GetReligion fisked through some of the mainstream press accounts of the pope’s homily at the Sagrada Familia, and noticed that none of them actually seemed to have… uh… listened to it. At least, that’s what you’d conclude from their coverage. In a homily that is almost entirely about the theology and architecture … Read more
Thanks to Father Z for putting me on to “Rev. Know-It-All” — the nom-de-blog of Father Richard Simon of Skokie, IL — and his recent thoughts on celebrating parts of the Mass ad orientem. He explains, first of all, why he wanted to try it: I did it as an experiment. I suspect that the … Read more
CNS reports that a new seminary opened last week in Cuba: The new headquarters of the archdiocesan seminary of St. Charles and St. Ambrose was inaugurated on Wednesday. It is a complex of salmon-colored buildings organized around a chapel with stained glass windows located about five miles south of Havana. The Holy See’s Secretary of … Read more
Here’s part eight of Lloyd Osterdorf’s ten-part series “Catholics in Action.” Completed between 1952-1953, the stories explored Catholic social doctrine from the standpoint of individual people instead of the realm of politics (though the two sometimes inevitably cross over). As always, these pages come from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact. … Read more
Time for your Friday-morning link round-up — but first, a public service announcement: Don’t forget to set your clocks back tomorrow night! Also, today is Guy Fawkes Day. Please don’t go blowing up any government buildings. Thanks. On to the links: Forbes names Pope Benedict the fifth most powerful person in the world, just behind … Read more
As the last several posts here on InsideCatholic can attest, everyone has different “take-aways” from Tuesday’s election results. For myself, I don’t know what to think; there are so many factors in play (and I know so little about most of them), I have trouble knowing what to take away. I am continually intrigued by … Read more
Over at the Public Discourse, Micah Watson argues that the “you can’t legislate morality” argument in politics is one of the most specious around: The governing authority’s power to pass and enforce laws takes account of the beastly side of human nature while holding that some wrongs are so fundamental that they demand a robust … Read more
Brian Saint-Paul, in posting about Dan Burke’s piece at Religion News Service, alerted me to the following quote from Sister Simone Campbell, who is apparently one of those “progressive” Catholics I hear about: “Those [pro-choice, anti-limited-government, leftist legislators who culturally identify as Catholic] are folks who are really committed to the common good, with a … Read more
Dan Burke at the Religion News Service reports that the Democratic religious outreach that worked so well in 2008 was largely abandoned in 2010. In previous elections, the Democratic National Committee hired staffers for Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, and evangelical outreach. This year, those jobs are not filled, said the Rev. Regena Thomas, the DNC’s director … Read more