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 […]
Editorials
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).
A Growing Threat
More and more, the media are waking up to the harsh reality that the Islamic State is a clear danger to all people in the Western world, and to Christians in particular. Following the beheading of the 21 martyrs of the Coptic Church came the news that these terrorists had abducted over 220 Assyrian Christians.
Modern Martyrdom
The militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video entitled “A Message Signed in Blood to the Nation of the Cross” in which they released a warning saying they were “south of Rome.” They then proceeded to murder, by beheading 21 Coptic Christian men. These Christian men were seen, on the video calling on the Holy Name of Jesus as they were savagely murdered.
Let’s Not Play God
Last December, State Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) introduced a “Death With Dignity Act” which would make New York the fifth state in the country to allow physician-assisted suicide. This bill is gaining support from other politicians in our area as well. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, along with the Bishops of the New York State, and the […]
Really?, Mr. President!
Last week, President Obama at the Presidential Prayer Breakfast said that Islam as a religion cannot be blamed for the terror perpetrated by ISIL. In his talk, he claimed that Christianity has a checkered past of committing violence in the name of religion.
Understanding the Pope
It has been suggested that Catholic newspapers spend too much time interpreting the words of the Holy Father, explaining away his thought so that it coincides more with traditional Catholic teaching. It has been suggested that perhaps the Catholic Press should just let the words stand as they are.
Need for Good Homilies
It’s no secret that one of the biggest complaints which is lodged against our priests is a perceived poor quality of homiletic skill. This is, at times, compounded with the comment: “Father preaches so long and then realizes the time and rushes through the rest of the Mass.” We are proud of our priests. The […]
Concrete Kindness
The Vatican has announced that, in addition to the new showers being built under the colonnade at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City State, barbers in Rome on Mondays (the traditional day off for barbers) will begin offering haircuts and shaves for the homeless and those in need. Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the Papal Almoner, will be in charge of the project, which is set to begin on Feb. 18.
Understanding Pope
Pope Francis gave another one of his airplane press conferences on his return to Rome from Manila. And, once again, the words uttered by Pope Francis had the world listening and people of all sorts of perspectives taking his words out of the context in which he spoke them.