Columns
By Effie Caldarola
My golden retriever is sprawled on the cool vinyl of the laundry room floor, unwilling to make her usual dash to the window to bark at the mailman. Obviously, this strange behavior, if not a sign of the apocalypse, is at least a sign that it’s way too hot. My friends in Alaska think it’s …
1/1/70
Reading Time
3
min
By George Weigel
Of all the commentary I’ve read on Notre Dame’s decision to invite President Obama to receive an honorary doctorate of laws as the university’s 2009 commencement speaker, the most disturbing came from Father Kenneth Himes of the Boston College theology department. In a Boston Globe story about Professor Mary Ann Glendon’s courageous (and correct) decision …
1/1/70
Reading Time
3
min
By Ann M. Augherton
How do you celebrate the birthday of the Holy Father? How about some Bavarian dancers, nostalgic “oompah” music and a maypole? Oh and make sure his older brother is there for the festivities. That’s just what a contingent from his homeland of Bavaria did today. Traditionally dressed folk dancers performed the skirt-twirling Schuhplattler dance complete …
1/1/70
Reading Time
1
min
By Osv Editorial Board
The following unsigned editorial is from the June 3 issue of Our Sunday Visitor, a national Catholic newsweekly based in Huntington, Ind. It was written by the newspaper’s editorial board. The Catholic Church in the United States is in the midst of a historic conflict that it did not initiate, that it cannot avoid, and …
1/1/70
Reading Time
4
min
By Cardinal Justin Rigali
On April 17, the National Institutes of Health released new draft guidelines for federally funded embryonic stem-cell research. Federal tax dollars will now be used, for the first time, to encourage the destruction of innocent human beings for their stem cells. Law professor Douglas Kmiec states in an opinion piece distributed by Catholic News Service …
New stem cell guidelines not ‘ethically sensitive’ Read More »
1/1/70
Reading Time
2
min
By Fr. Kenneth Doyle
The morality of body piercing Q. I am the mother of three girls, ages 17, 15 and 11. Our two older girls have been asking permission to have their navels pierced. For now, my husband has told them “no,” but he has promised to reassess once the girls have taken the time to present to …
1/1/70
Reading Time
3
min
By Fr. Kenneth Doyle
Q: As you are aware, the four Gospels in the Catholic Bible are based on the writings of saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But recently, as I was channel surfing, I came across a television program that spoke of the Gospels of Judas Iscariot, Peter the Apostle and Mary Magdalene. When I mentioned this …
Four Gospels mentioned in the Bible; watching Mass on TV Read More »
1/1/70
Reading Time
3
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By Bill and Monica Dodds Catholic News Service
It’s good to be reminded, or to realize for the first time, that caregiving is pro-life. What seems so obvious can be easily overlooked, especially if you’re a caregiver. So busy (at times so overwhelmed) with your caregiving duties, you may tend to think that you no longer can contribute to normal duties. But you …
1/1/70
Reading Time
2
min
By Karen Osborne Catholic News Service
I have a new hero. Her name is Malala Yousafzai, and she’s a 14-year-old girl from Pakistan. When she was 11, the Taliban took power in her valley. They enforced a harsh set of laws on the residents, among them, an edict that girls could no longer attend school. They threatened girls’ teachers and burned …
Lessons from a Pakistani teen fighting for her life Read More »
1/1/70
Reading Time
3
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By George Weigel
President Obama’s re-election and the prospect of a second Obama administration, freed from the constraints imposed by the necessity of running for re-election, have created a crisis for the Catholic Church in the United States. In the thought-world and vocabulary of the Bible, “crisis” has two meanings – the conventional sense (a grave threat) and …
1/1/70
Reading Time
3
min
