The June 30 Supreme Court decision in Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue is a cause for celebration. It goes against the Blaine Amendment, a failed amendment to the Constitution typical of the anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic bigotry of the 1880s.
Month: July 2020
What The Diocese Is Reading, Week of July 18
Our picks for this season’s must-read books.
Diocesan Assignments – July 18, 2020
Rev. Daniel Kingsley, from parochial vicar of St. Martin de Porres, Bedford Stuyvesant, to administrator of St. Clare, Rosedale, effective June 30.
Answering the Call of Duty During These Trying Times
On the first weekend after the quarantine began, my first task before individually calling each of the pastors of our parishes in Brooklyn and Queens, I placed a call to each of our hospital chaplains. Truly, they were on the front lines in their ministry in the hospitals of Brooklyn and Queens.
Catholic Academies, Parish Schools of Brooklyn and Queens Anticipate September Reopening
The Superintendent of Schools for the Brooklyn Diocese has announced plans for a September reopening of Catholic academies and parish schools, contingent upon a decision by Governor Andrew Cuomo on the reopening of New York public schools.
The Next Pope and Vatican II
Polemics about the Second Vatican Council continue to bedevil the Catholic conversation. Some Catholics, often found in the Churches of western Europe, claim that the Council’s “spirit” has never been implemented (although the Catholic Lite implementation they propose seems more akin to liberal Protestantism).
Foreign Students Relieved at Trump Administration’s About-Face on Visa Rule
The about-face from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on international student visas was hailed as the right step by educators and immigration advocates.
For True Growth to Happen, Wheat and Weed Must Grow Side-by-Side
Bishop DiMarzio’s column for the last edition of The Tablet, “The Birth of our Democracy,” spoke much truth regarding the recent calls and attempts (some successful) to tear down statues and monuments throughout the nation. He writes that “the statues that are now being taken down with public authority or by acts of individuals betray a misunderstanding of human nature. It is human nature that has been wounded by Original Sin, but it has been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. There are no perfect people.”
Only in Print: Sister Thea On Her Way to Sainthood
When Sister Charlene Smith first learned of Sister Thea Bowman’s cause for canonization, she was “pleased” but not “surprised.” She said Sister Thea was “a lot like Jesus” because of her “magnetic” personality.
Pope Benedict Watches Brother’s Funeral Mass Service via Livestream
During the service, a portrait of Msgr. Ratzinger was placed by the altar and his coffin. On top of his coffin was a Bible and a black biretta, traditionally worn by priests. While incense burned, Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer led participants in prayer and a choir of men sang in German and Latin.