by Father William J. Byron, S.J. I’ve been reading and talking a lot about health care in recent weeks. Whenever someone mentions health care “reform,” I find myself always thinking (and sometimes saying), “No, it’s health care finance reform that is the issue,” not reform in general. No one wants to dismantle or reform the […]

by Effie Caldarola Recently it was announced that the Catholic bishops of England and Wales are bringing back meatless Fridays as a form of penance in their dioceses. I have mixed feelings about this no doubt well-meaning effort to reintroduce penance into the lives of Catholics. Years ago, when the long-standing practice of abstaining from […]

by Father William Byron, S.J. “Ex ore infantium” are the Latin words for the Scripture phrase that Jesus quoted in reminding His hearers that “out of the mouths of infants” praise and sometimes even wisdom can be spoken (Mt 21:16). Jesuit Father Mark Horak, pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., reversed that […]