Effie Caldarola

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.

Keeping Catholic Schools Catholic

Will the Church be allowed to staff its schools with teachers who teach and live what the Catholic Church believes, or will the state try to coerce Catholic schools to employ teaching staff according to other criteria?

Karen Osborne

Real Beauty Is Being Comfortable With Ourselves

By Karen Osborne Have you paid attention to the man behind the curtain? In the famous movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy, her friends and her dog Toto journey through the magical land of Oz to reach the wizard, the only person who can send her back home to Kansas. When the group travels to the wizard’s inner sanctum, […]

No Fighting God

Some months after my son-in-law, Rob Susil, died, a longtime friend asked me in a gentle but point-blank way, “Are you still fighting God?”

Effie Calderola

Exercises in Love

By Effie Calderola WHEN MY YOUNGEST child was 4, I re-entered the workforce after spending time at home raising three children. Even though I started as a part-time employee, I felt pressured. I was uneasy with myself, often stressed and during that first year back at work, a family medical crisis added to my lack […]

World Christianity by the Numbers

THE ANNUAL “STATUS of Global Christianity” survey published by the International Bulletin of Missionary Research is a cornucopia of numbers: some are encouraging; others are discouraging; many of them are important for grasping the nature of this particular moment in Christian history. This year’s survey works from a baseline of 1900 A.D., and makes projections […]

Ukraine: Confusion, Disinformation

TWO RECENT interviews in the National Catholic Register suggest that there is considerable confusion about what’s what in Ukraine. Those confusions reflect the success of the extraordinary Russian disinformation campaign that’s been underway for the past 15 months. They may also touch on the delicate, but important question of Russia’s attempts to buy influence in […]

Observing Lent, Day by Day

Lent is a journey – a journey to Calvary with the Lord and an opportunity to reflect on how well we’ve each picked up the cross daily (as instructed in Luke 9:23) and followed Him.

Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk

Medical Assistance with The Battle of the Bulge

Bariatric Surgery, which often involves banding of the stomach, is a widely used procedure for treating severe obesity. Another approach that relies on an implantable “stomach pacemaker” also appears poised to assist those struggling with significant weight gain.