by Julie Asher WASHINGTON (CNS) – The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Dec. 6 called a lawsuit filed against the USCCB over its directives for Catholic health care “baseless” and “misguided.” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Michigan filed the suit in U.S. District Court Nov. 29. […]
Author: settinger
Msgr. Brown Receives National Recognition
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that Msgr. John Brown, Walgreens drugstores and the New York Mets have been awarded the 2013 Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience, recognizing their contributions to their communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Msgr. Brown, the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas parish, Flatlands, was the pastor of St. […]
Mandela Touched The Heart of a Fellow Prisoner
JOHANNESBURG (CNS) – Former South African President Nelson Mandela looked down on the tens of thousands of people gathered at his memorial service in Johannesburg and smiled as he watched them celebrate his legacy, said Andrew Mokete Mlangeni, a Catholic who was imprisoned for decades with the late anti-apartheid icon. The first to address the […]
Mandela – Religious Leaders Recall Struggle for Peace and Equality in South Africa
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Pope Francis joined Church and government leaders from around the world in crediting Nelson Mandela for a steadfast commitment to promoting human rights and upholding the dignity of all people in response to the death Dec. 5 of the former president of South Africa. In a message to South Africa President Jacob […]
Ethical Parameters for High-Risk Pregnancies
by Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk AT THE BEGINING of December, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a sweeping federal lawsuit against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops over its Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic hospitals and health care services, alleging that the directives, with their prohibition against direct abortion, resulted in negligent care of a […]
Rejoice! We’re Almost There!
by Sister Karen M. Cavanagh, C.S.J. Are we there yet? How much longer? In today’s technological world, we might not hear that question uttered aloud from a traveler. In a car, we can check the GPS. On a plane, we can track our travel, the miles flown and miles to go and know almost exactly […]
Youth Reflection: Working with DNA
By Robert Santos The biotechnology class from, St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows, led by Michal Ashkenazy, received an amazing opportunity to work at the DNA Learning Center in Lake Success, L.I. This trip was unique because we got to work with technology, in the form of a microchip, that very few high school students have […]
Books for Your Christmas Wish List
by George Weigel The flurry of instabooks published shortly after the election of Pope Francis didn’t shed much light on the formation, character and interests of Jorge Mario Bergoglio or the likely trajectory of his pontificate. Now comes something serious: “Pope Francis: Our Brother, Our Friend – Personal Recollections About the Man Who Became Pope,” […]
‘Reel Faith’ on Christmas Films
by Father Robert Lauder BECAUSE I AM a regular on the television show “Reel Faith,” I am a little self-conscious about praising the show, which appears on NET-TV on Fridays at 8 p.m. and at other times during this holiday season. The show returns in February for an Academy Awards special and during the summer months. […]
Clearing a Path
In The Apostle’s Creed, we profess that at some point between His death and resurrection, Christ “descended into hell.” Though the origins of this doctrine are obscure and scriptural references sparse, the logic is strong that salvation – to be truly universal – must reach into the very heart of darkness, the jaws of evil […]