On first meeting Dr. Andrzej Grajewski, you probably wouldn’t guess that this mild-mannered Polish historian is one of the world’s leading experts on the ecclesiastical Dark Side of the Cold War: the relentless communist assault on the Catholic Church. But he is, and his expertise comes primarily from years of patient combing through the Bad Guys’ secret intelligence service files.
Month: July 2019
The Thirst for Freedom In the Ukraine
by Father Michael A. PerryI’m writing this on July 3, perhaps with a sense of nostalgia because l am not home to celebrate our Independence Day with my people. I’m in Ukraine, where my ancestors came from 100 years ago.
Father Bob Blauvelt
Dear Editor: It is hard to imagine that anyone could better teach the meaning of love, divine and human, than Father Bob Blauvelt. Through personal example and the Cursillo he inspired The Tablet editorial staff to accept and promote the message of Vatican II.
Mother Cabrini, a Great Role Model
Dear Editor: There should be a public memorial of Mother Cabrini in New York City. Yes, a statue should be erected to her, especially in view of the Mayor’sefforts to evidence increased statues of women in NYC, pointing to their contributions to our society.
The Effects of Abortion
Dear Editor: Sadly, we see the effects of abortion on demand mutating and infecting the minds, hearts and very souls of the millions of those men and women which have followed the Roe v Wade generation, which ushered in the culture of death. I speak of the children who have been brainwashed and trained to hate without reason and their predecessors.
Cruel, Inhumane Treatment
Dear Editor: As a person of faith who believes in the basic human dignity of all people, especially the most vulnerable among us, I am appalled by the recent reports of the cruel, racist, inhumane treatment of migrant children held in U.S. custody.
Baby Monica’s Funeral
Dear Editor: Thank you to The Tablet and Currents News for covering the funeral of baby Monica at Our lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn.
The Canonization of John Henry Cardinal Newman
On July 1, John Henry Newman’s cause for canonization was approved by Pope Francis. Cardinal Newman, an Englishman who lived from 1801-1890, was declared venerable by Pope St. John Paul II in 1991 and Blessed by Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2009. Pope Francis will canonize Cardinal Newman on Oct. 13 at a Mass in Piazza San Pietro in the Vatican, along with four other Blesseds. There are two approved miracles attributed to the intercession of Cardinal Newman, both originating in the United States.
Fulton Sheen and the Long Tradition of Relic Battles
At the end of June, Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s remains were transferred from the Archdiocese of New York to the Diocese of Peoria in Illinois. The transfer was preceded by three years of litigation between the diocese where Archbishop Sheen served as a priest and became a popular radio personality and the archdiocese where he served as an auxiliary bishop and became a TV star. The fact that two Catholic dioceses went to court in a dispute for the remains of a saintly man may seem odd, but actually it is part of a long tradition.
Two Beautiful Italian Traditions
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,Brooklyn celebrates many patronal feasts, but for Brooklyn and Queens, the Feasts of St. Paolino and Our Lady of Mount Carmel celebrated at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Williamsburg are what the Italians call the “la festa di tutte le feste.” San Gennaro uses that expression for its feast in Manhattan, but in Brooklyn, it is Mount Carmel-St Paolino, that creates the great Italian festival each year.