Vote Your Conscience

This Tuesday, Nov. 6, is a day on which every voting Catholic must make an important choice. We face the civic duty to be faithful citizens and the moral summons to be faithful to our consciences. Of the two, the moral obligation to follow one’s conscience comes first. We may not, in fact, support in […]

Overcoming Spiritual Blindness

by Father William R. Dulaney Imagine you had the opportunity to have a conversation with Jesus at some point during His public ministry. What would you say? What question would you ask Him? What might He say to you? How would you react? The selections from Mark’s Gospel for last Sunday and today present individuals […]

Our Capacity to Relate Is a Gift

by Father Robert Lauder Back in the early 1960s, my bishop at that time, Bishop Bryan J. McEntegart, asked me to do graduate work in philosophy with the goal of obtaining a doctorate. The bishop was planning a four-year college seminary, which eventually became Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception in Douglaston. He wanted me […]

Human Life Matters

In the upcoming election, the principles upon which we make our choices will most probably display much about the authenticity and credibility of our witness as a Church in a country much in need of moral clarity. It is a matter of first principles, of which life itself matters most. A common misunderstanding of Catholic […]

The Languages of Faith

by Deacon Christopher Heanue Throughout my years in seminary, I have had the great opportunity to travel to the far ends of the earth. Two years ago, I was elected from my seminary, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, to travel to China with the congregation of Maryknoll missionaries. A group of 12 men (seminarians, […]

Migration Office Honors Shining Stars

At two dinners at Gargiulo’s, Coney Island, the Diocesan Migration Office celebrated the fact that immigrants to the U.S. continue to make a significant contribution to the Church in Brooklyn and Queens. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio was joined by Father Patrick Keating, director of the Catholic Migration Office, in presenting the Shining Star Award to members […]

Benedict Assesses Legacy of Vatican II

by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, published a short reminiscence of the council by Pope Benedict XVI. In the essay, the pope recalls his presence at the opening of Vatican II, which he […]

Council Father Recalls Highlights of Vatican II

by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – It was Oct. 11, 1962, and the bishop of Inchon, Korea, was walking in a procession of more than 2,200 other bishops into St. Peter’s Basilica on the opening day of the Second Vatican Council. “Every light was on in the basilica because of television,” he said. […]

The Issues – 2012 – The Beginning and End of Life

This is the fourth in a series of stories examining the positions of the major presidential candidates. WASHINGTON (CNS) – At the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., the differences on abortion between President Barack Obama and his Republican presidential opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, were clear. Speeches in prime time on successive nights […]