A Slice of Life

Grand Knight Camillo Casano and Deputy Grand Knight Vincent Gentile help the Sisters of Life slice the cake at a dinner in their honor at the Archbishop Hughes Knights of Columbus Council No. 481 in Dyker Heights. For the story, see The Editor’s Space.    Photo © Ed Wilkinson

Knights, Sisters Display A Mutual Admiration

The Knights of Columbus and the Sisters of Life have a lot of common. One similarity is that they have a great admiration for each other since they are both committed to the goal of preserving the dignity of human life, especially the unborn. To show how grateful the Knights are to the Sisters, the […]

Brooklyn Prayers Recall Heartache in Boston

As the church bells rang at Holy Name, Windsor Terrace, and a light cool breeze blew, parishioners stood outside the church with lighted candles and remembered. This was last Monday evening, one week after the bombings at the Boston Marathon. Father Jim Cunningham, pastor, organized an interfaith prayer service for all the people who were […]

Hope Amid Questions About Terror in Boston

There are more questions than answers about the terror attack on the Boston Marathon this week. No one knows that better than people who were on the scene, like Father Brian Jordan, O.F.M., a chaplain at St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, and Bridget Cunningham, the niece of Father Jim Cunningham, pastor of Holy Name, Windsor […]

A Novel Approach to Terrorism and Religion

Take twin brothers from Boston. Make one a politician and the other a priest. Throw in an assassination and a terrorist attack, an interfaith marriage, the horror of radical Islam, and you have the makings of “A Prayer for the Devil.” It’s the first published novel written by Dale Allan, a member of St. Kilian’s […]

Easter Vigil Is a Sign of New Life in the Church (with slideshow)

The Easter Vigil is the most dramatic event in the Church’s liturgical calendar. It uses sights, sounds and smells to announce the Good News that Jesus rose from the dead. Candles are lit. Incense rises from the thurible. Bells are rung. The cantor sings out, “Let us rejoice!” In recent years, the Vigil has taken […]

Seeing Green: 20th St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Bay Ridge

  Sister Virginia Lake, C.S.J., of Bishop Kearney H.S., Bensonhurst, served as Grand Marshal of the 20th annual Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Other contingents included Xaverian H.S. Pipes and Drums, Bishop Kearney’s Marching Band, St. Ephrem’s Cheerleaders, St. Patrick’s School, Holy Angels Academy and Our Lady of Perpetual Help School. Middle, Congressman Michael […]

Easter Is Perfect Time For Changes in Church

What is happening in Rome amounts to nothing more than a seismic shift in how we view the papacy. Pope Francis wades into the crowds to shake hands with people. Pope Francis calls his dentist and his newspaper stand in Argentina to tell them that he will not be keeping appointments. Pope Francis phones the […]

New Pope Has Caught Public’s Imagination

The diocesan Mass of thanksgiving for the election of Pope Francis had a decidedly Hispanic tone. Celebrated at St. James Cathedral-Basilica in Downtown Brooklyn, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio was joined by Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros and about 25 concelebrants. Not only did Bishop DiMarzio preach the first part of his homily in Spanish in honor of […]

The Bishop Was First of All a Human Being

This column was supposed to be about the qualities we are looking for in the new pope. And then we received the news that Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius A. Catanello had died. When the news came, it was not unexpected. Bishop Catanello had retired early in 2010 because he was stricken with a brain tumor. […]