Sister Virginia Elizabeth Down, died on Oct. 10, 2023, just days after her 75th birthday. “Sister Ginny,” as she was called, attended St. Robert Bellarmine Elementary School and The Mary Louis Academy, from where she graduated in 1966. One year later she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood, New York. Having received her B.A. […]
Author: Christine
Appreciating The Preciousness of Time
Autumn is a time of marathons. I recently completed my first marathon, the Catholic Health-Suffolk County Marathon, in a time of 4 hours and 26 minutes. Truth be told, my journey of 26.2 miles began two and half years earlier, when a life-changing coronary event redirected me on a path toward better health and gratitude for the blessings in my life.
Catholic Charities Reacts to ‘Disturbing’ Online Threats to Staff Over Migration Work
Catholic Charities USA, the organization dedicated to carrying out the domestic humanitarian work of the Catholic Church in the United States, responded Oct. 31 to “disturbing” recent remarks by a social media influencer threatening its staff.
Survivor Tells Of His Healing
It seems appropriate that this Healing Mass includes a contribution from one of the survivors. Each survivor has had their own individual hurdles to overcome the trauma they experienced. Hopefully some information conveyed here today about my experience can provide solidarity and hope to others to begin or to continue their healing process.
A Statue Outside Queens Church Vandalized; Third Attack on a Church in a Week
Police are investigating a case of vandalism in which someone broke off the hand of a statue of the Blessed Mother outside St. Andrew Avellino Church in Flushing during the overnight hours of Monday into Tuesday, Oct. 30-31.
25 Years After International Religious Freedom Act, Limits on Religion Rise Worldwide
In the 25 years since the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act became law, “restrictions on religious freedom have been steadily increasing for several years” around the globe, said the chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ religious liberty and international policy committees.
Vatican Nativity Scene to Honor 800th Anniversary of St. Francis’ Creche
On the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi setting up the first Nativity scene, the creche in St. Peter’s Square in 2023 will come from the Diocese of Rieti, Italy, and pay tribute to the scene set up in the diocese in 1223.
Ouija Boards ‘Dangerous, Dangerous’ Tools of Evil That Deny God’s Love, say Catholic Experts
Thinking of having a little “fun” on Halloween by grabbing an Ouija board and ringing up Aunt Edna in the afterlife? Think again.
Rome’s Chief Rabbi Warns Prayer for Peace Must Not ‘Cancel Moral Evaluations’
In response to Pope Francis’s repeated pleas for an end to the war in Gaza and his recent day of prayer for peace, Rome’s chief rabbi has said that while armed conflict is always “an offense against human dignity,” at times it’s necessary to defeat evil.
‘God is Always With Us’; Portland, Maine, Bishop at Mass for Shaken Lewiston Community
“Evil is part of the world in which we live,” said Bishop Robert P. Deeley of Portland, Maine during a Mass Oct. 27 in Lewiston, Maine. “It’s how we deal with it which is important.”
