To Know Bishop Paul Is to Feel His Goodness

by Father James Cunningham The appointment of Bishop Raymond Chappetto and Bishop Paul Sanchez as Auxiliary Bishops of Brooklyn makes perfect sense. Anyone who knows these two great priests also knows that they are the best. You couldn’t find in Brooklyn two priests more highly respected and admired. I came to know Bishop Sanchez when […]

When Ventilator Usage Is Ethical

by Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk THE USE OF ventilators can pose particulary challenging problems during end-of-life situations for families.  When should we place a loved one on a ventilator?  If somebody is on a ventilator, can we ever “pull the plug?” Understanding our moral duty depends upon whether the use of a ventilator in a particular […]

A Vegan Diet Saves Animals

by Father Frank Mann RECENTLY, the New York Times  published a rather engaging and informative article by Gretchen Reynolds titled, “Can Athletes Benefit from a Vegan Diet?”  There are many variant catalysts that initiate an individual’s choice in pursuit of a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. I am certainly not an athlete.  However, many months ago, […]

What Really Matters When Handling Kids

by Bill and Monica Dodds SOME YEARS AGO, a popular book advised people not to sweat the small stuff and to realize it’s all small stuff. But, of course, it isn’t, especially when it comes to parenting. The challenge for moms and dads is figuring out what family matters really matter. Older siblings from larger […]

Private College Comes with a Price Tag

by William J. Byron The price tag on a college education keeps going up. Student indebtedness is correspondingly on the rise. Some are saying that the obvious way to control the costs is to increase the student-to-faculty ratio, for what they are now calling “in place” education, and introduce online instruction to break the grip […]

The Unique Role Of a Father

by John Garvey WE ARE NOW in the parental interregnum – the period between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The modern project to make women and men more or less interchangeable has failed. The difference between the sexes, and the importance of their respective roles in the family, remains alive and well. Yet it is […]

Marriage Is Between A Man and a Woman

by Father John Catoir WHEN I ATTEMPTED to explain to my gay nephew, whom I love as a son, that the right to marry was not an absolute right for anyone, not even heterosexual Catholics in good standing, he was not impressed. I told him that heterosexual men and women are not permitted to marry […]

What Can Be Done About Catholics Leaving the Church?

b­­­y Father Robert Barron I saw an advance copy of a survey by Father William J. Byron, S.J., and Charles Zech, which will appear in the April 30 edition of “America” magazine.  It was conducted at the request of Bishop David O’Connell, the Bishop of Trenton, and its focus was very simple:  it endeavored to […]

The Black and White of Good and Bad

by Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk One widely-encountered idea today is that there is no black and white when it comes to morality, only a kind of “gray area.” This is often taken to mean that we really can’t know with certainty what is right and wrong, allowing us to “push into the gray” as we make […]

Don’t Look Back, Walk In the Newness of God

by David Bisono MANY TIMES WE surprise people with who we really are and because of it we are left alone in the process. Honesty brings about healing, but it also can bring about separation. Have you ever found yourself standing all alone when you really thought that those who promised you their friendship and […]