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.

Unique Challenges for Vatican Diplomacy

The Vatican engages in bilateral diplomacy to secure the freedom of the Catholic Church to be itself in the countries with which the Holy See has, or wishes to have, diplomatic relations.

John Mulderig

‘American Sniper’ Drama Hits Home

For those seeking an insight into an individual veteran’s perspective on the Iraq War, director Clint Eastwood’s sober drama “American Sniper” (Warner Bros.) – which stars Bradley Cooper as real-life Navy SEAL Chris Kyle – will likely hit home.

Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk

Building Esteem For Our Elders

by Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. Occasionally we hear disturbing stories in the media about young people who perpetrate abuse against the elderly. In a widely reported 2009 story, for example, caretakers at the Quadrangle Assisted Living facility outside Philadelphia were charged in connection with the abuse of an elderly patient named Lois McCallister. Three employees, aged […]

Carolyn Woo

Bouncing Back from Broken Resolutions

By Carolyn Y. Woo BY NOW, MANY OF US have broken some of those New Year’s resolutions that seemed so promising weeks ago. Research shows that the majority of Americans engage in this practice of setting goals at the start of a new year, yet few of us see it through with resolute consistency. I […]

Owning Our Baptism

THE TRANSFER OF the celebration of the Epiphany to a Sunday from Jan. 6 (the solemnity’s traditional date), and the elimination of Sundays-after-Epiphany in favor of the ill- named Sundays of “Ordinary Time,” has made a hash of the Christmas liturgical season, as I suggested in my book, “Evangelical Catholicism.” Still, the liturgical calendar of […]