For whatever reason, the influence of religious institutions upon public and private lives seems to have waned. Individuals feel more comfortable making up their own minds without seeking counsel from the Church. That carries over into the public forum as public officials seem less likely to seek proper guidance. The results, of course, is that […]
Author: Ed Wilkinson
Sister Betty Made Office a Fun Place
When news came that Sister Betty Lamb, O.P., had died Sept. 19 at Maria Regina Convent in Brentwood, it was not unexpected. She was 84 and had been sick for some time, suffering from a form of dementia. She wasn’t the Betty Lamb we knew when she joined The Tablet staff in 1972. Instantaneously, she […]
Prayer Helps Span The Past Decade
Retired Bishop Thomas V. Daily remembers exactly where he was when he heard about the attacks on the Twin Towers. Bishop Daily, who was Bishop of Brooklyn at the time, was sitting in his seventh-floor office at 75 Greene Ave. in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. He was speaking with a priest of the […]
Ten Years Later, We Haven’t Forgotten
Ten years after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, it’s clear that it was a day that changed all of our lives. The attacks against America awakened us to the terrible threat of terrorism and the reality that it could to any one of us. I was driving to work […]
Yes, There’s Room In the Rectory
In one week, we survived an earthquake and a hurricane. Who would have thought! Some managed with a little help from their friends. Like the 28 parishioners of St. Mary Star of the Sea parish, Far Rockaway, who called their former pastor and found shelter. Far Rockaway is located in Evacuation Zone A. Evacuation was […]
WYD Pilgrims Made Us Proud
I hope you’ve been reading The Tablet and watching The NET these past two weeks. If so, you’ve had a front-row seat on one of the most uplifting news stories of the year. If you haven’t been tuned in, and instead have been watching network TV or reading the daily newspapers, you missed it all. […]
Keeping Up With What’s Going On
In her first three days covering World Youth Day activities in Madrid, Spain, Tablet reporter Antonina Zielinska logged only six hours of sleep. Instead of relaxing, she has been taking photos and writing stories about the almost 600 pilgrims from Brooklyn and Queens who are attending the week-long gathering that culminates Sunday, Aug. 21, with […]
Gov. Carey Was a Neighborhood Guy
From all indications, the late Gov. Hugh Carey was a very successful governor and congressman. As a homegrown product of the Brooklyn Diocese, there was always considerable pride in the Brooklyn-born politician. Gov. Carey came out of Park Slope where he attended St. Augustine Diocesan H.S. before moving on to St. John’s University and St. […]
Patriarch Visits Brooklyn Flock
It was exciting moment when the Catholic Coptic Patriarch of Egypt stopped by our offices last week. Earlier in the day, I attended the 9 a.m. Mass celebrated by His Beatitude Antonios Cardinal Naguib. Following Mass and breakfast, Tablet reporter Antonina Zielinska interviewed the patriarch at the rectory. After that, he was chauffeured the four […]
An Antidote to The Bad News
Someone in the newsroom looked at the day’s headlines and said, “Looks like another bad day for the Church!” A glance at the rundown of news can be depressing. President Obama has thrown his support behind legislation pending in both houses of Congress that would repeal the 15-year-old Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This would […]