…Jose Gomez of San Antonio, TX. He will be announced as LA’s coadjutor bishop at a press conference this morning, meaning he will take control of the archdiocese when Cardinal Mahony reaches retirement age next year. The speculation over this appointment has been heated, and it’s groundbreaking in a number of ways. Whispers in the … Read more
Michael Hirschorn at New York Magazine says that CNN has become the sick man of broadcast journalism. Things have certainly changed since the early days of cable. The rise: It’s easy to forget that CNN was once revolutionary. Founded in 1980, back when the idea of watching a channel other than ABC, NBC, or CBS … Read more
I posted this over at my blog at TrueSlant, but it’s so short — what the heck — I’ll submit it for your disappoval here. For decades, the RNC allowed its employees to get a subsidized abortion. For one night, its young donors received an all-expenses-paid visit to a strip-and-bondage club. Guess which sin miscue … Read more
Having Easter and Opening Day this close together definitely falls under the “Embarrassment of Riches” category for me. I’m sitting here amidst a sea of empty plastic eggs and Peep wrappers, watching my beloved Dodgers’ attempts to mount a come-back against the oft-hapless Pittsburgh Pirates. The latest 3-run HR from the Bucs’ catcher makes said … Read more
Along with Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould, which I only put into our Netflix queue to see if my husband really loved me, The African Queen has been languishing in the “saved” category for over a year, waiting until the movie should be released on DVD. We finally got to see it last week, … Read more
Along with Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould, which I only put into our Netflix queue to see if my husband really loved me, The African Queen has been languishing in the “saved” category for over a year, waiting until the movie should be released on DVD. We finally got to see it last week, … Read more
Along with Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould, which I only put into our Netflix queue to see if my husband really loved me, The African Queen has been languishing in the “saved” category for over a year, waiting until the movie should be released on DVD. We finally got to see it last week, … Read more
I avoided reading the news over the weekend to better focus on properly celebrating Easter, so I missed this exchange between two archbishops over the abuse scandal in Ireland: Archbishop Williams, the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which claims 70 million adherents, was unusually blunt. “I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who … Read more
Last week, hell froze over when America‘s Michael Sean Winters complimented George Weigel’s criticism of the New York Times. Weigel, distinguished senior fellow of Washington’s Ethics and Public Policy Center, also wrote a defense of Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church in The Philadelphia Inquirer today. Weigel points out that the Church, more than any … Read more
“Love Bade Me Welcome” a poem by George Herbert was set to music by Ralph Vaughn Williams as part of his “Five Mystical Songs” (1906-11). Both the poem and the song have the power to convert. The poem had a profound effect on the Jewish philosopher/mystic Simone Weil. The song has, more times than I can recall, … Read more
“Love Bade Me Welcome” a poem by George Herbert was set to music by Ralph Vaughn Williams as part of his “Five Mystical Songs” (1906-11). Both the poem and the song have the power to convert. The poem had a profound effect on the Jewish philosopher/mystic Simone Weil. The song has, more times than I can recall, … Read more
The Anchoress has written a beautiful piece for NPR: “Today, on Good Friday, Why I Am Still A Catholic.” When have darkness and light been anything but co-existent? How do we recognize either without the other? I remain within, and love, the Catholic Church because it is a church that has lived and wrestled … Read more
As Robert Reilly reminded us in this morning’s article, Holy Week is an incredibly rich time, both liturgically and musically. And for me, Good Friday is certainly the high/(low?)-water mark. For the last 15 years or so, I’ve tried to take the time to listen to one of the Bach Passions from beginning to end. Kids … Read more
Given the day, it didn’t seem quite right to go with the usual free-for-all round-up of news and offbeat links, so here instead are two Good Friday links — Cardinal Ruini’s meditations for the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome today, and Paul Robeson’s beautiful rendering of “Were You There.” Feel free … Read more
Our friend John Barger, publisher of Sophia Press, asked me to let InsideCatholic.com readers know he is giving away free books! Click here for more information. I hope I don’t need to tell you that Sophia is one of the best Catholic publishers anywhere, and whether the books are free or not you should read … Read more
With the constant media barrage against the pope and the Church, we seem to be living our own Via Crucis this year. And even though I am celebrating Easter at home in Boston, I’m attuned to what is happening in Rome. Just before I left Rome last week, I offered the Vatican Radio commentary for Pope Benedict’s … Read more
Public art or public eyesore? The mayor of London — the host city for the 2012 Olympic games — has commissioned a tower for their Olympic Park meant to be their own “mini-Eiffel.” Some 400ft high – admittedly a little shy of the Paris landmark’s 1,063ft, but higher than the Statue of Liberty – the … Read more
The current issue of Our Sunday Visitor has a cover story on the new commission set up by the Vatican to investigate — and come to some conclusion over — the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje. The examination will fall under the authority of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — Pope Benedict’s former … Read more
Neal McDonough is one of those actors who has appeared in so many movies and TV shows that his face is almost immediately recognizable to anyone that has watched their fair share of either in the past 10 years. Check out this Minority Report still, for example. He’s not Tom Cruise. And he’s not Colin Farrell. But I … Read more
Following up on Margaret’s morning post… John Allen, Jr., senior correspondent with the National Catholic Reporter, senior Vatican analyst with CNN, and author of The Rise of Benedict XVI, answered questions yesterday at the Washington Post about the pope and the ongoing sex abuse crisis. It’s a short read and Allen is typically fair … Read more