Dear Editor: I am proud to submit Msgr. Thomas Caserta, pastor of St. Bernadette parish, as a great homilist. Msgr. Caserta is an eloquent speaker. His homilies are beautiful and meaningful. He speaks right to your heart in a positive, wonderful way.
Author: settinger
Choice on Death Penalty
Dear Editor: Laura Ieraci should be commended for her reporting, “Church Seeks End of Death Penalty Around the World” (March 14). The work of Archbishop Silvano Tomasi at the United Nations to encourage States to refrain from using the death penalty as a form of punishment for even horrendous and savage crimes is part of an ongoing discussion within the Catholic Church. No less a person than St. John Paul the Great supported such a stance. His very suasive arguments are still part of this important and continuing dialogue.
Pipeline Debate Continues
Dear Editor: I must take issue with Rosa Cerrato’s comments (March 21) that opposition to the Keystone Pipeline “is based on environmental studies that do not report the whole truth” and with The New York Times’ published study “stating the pipeline will not damage the environment.”
Thank You, Your Eminence
The entire New York community mourns the death of His Eminence, Cardinal Edward Egan, archbishop-emeritus of New York. The cardinal was a brilliant canon lawyer, astute organizer and a natural-born leader. From his early days in Chicago, to his work in Rome (most especially his integral role in the formulation of the 1983 Code of […]
50 Years in the Vernacular
Last weekend, at the Roman church of Ognissanti (All Saints – the titular church of German theologian Cardinal Walter Kasper), Pope Francis commemorated the 50th anniversary of the first time a pope celebrated Mass in the vernacular language (in this case, Italian).
Great Homilists Continued
Dear Editor: I am a parishioner at Blessed Trinity in Breezy Point. All three of our priests are excellent homilists but I would like to recognize and give credit to Jim Ruoff, one of our deacons.
He is concise, clear and to the point. He gives background and often touches on all of the day’s readings to connect them and show their relevance to our lives as we live them.
Fading Right
Dear Editor: Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik was quoted as saying, “the Church is no longer free to practice what we preach.”
What is happening to our individual freedom? Did the three-judge panel in Pittsburgh feel they are so powerful that they can enforce Jesus Christ’s followers (Christians) to act against their own religious beliefs?
Religion and Environment
Dear Editor: Just a thought… The Catholic environmentalists (“Catholic Leaders Oppose Keystone Pipeline” March 7) owe it to themselves and to us to delve further into the Keystone XL pipeline controversy.
A Living Expression of Love
WE’VE ALL HEARD the old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Today’s readings serve as a reminder of just how true this saying is. From Adam and Eve, through the Babylonian Exile, to the Crucifixion and on down to our very time, humanity’s relationship with God has been a true love story, involving people that change and a Love that does not.
Two Lenten Lessons: Service and Solidarity
Recently, I heard an interview with the author and illustrator of a newly released children’s book and got that familiar “I’ve got to have that book” feeling.