Pope Baptizes Babies, Urges Parents to Teach Them to Pray

Telling parents and godparents to teach their little ones to pray from the time they are small, Pope Francis baptized 13 babies in the Sistine Chapel as their older brothers and sisters looked on — or got away and ran around.

Rite of Election Marks Final Prep For Soon-To-Be Catholics

Hundreds of people came to St. Patrick’s Church, Bay Ridge on Sunday, March 6, to take part in the Rite of Election — a prayer service in which those who are enrolled in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) in the Diocese of Brooklyn took an important step toward becoming full members of the Catholic Church. 

Invalid Baptisms Possible But Rare

Catholics in the U.S. are learning about a problem most could never anticipate — the idea that a baptism could be invalid. Church leaders in the Diocese of Brooklyn acknowledged that this could happen.

Analysis: Priest Baptism Story Offers Memo for Reformers — Look Before You Leap

Robert K. Merton, a famous American sociologist, was, by all accounts, a smart guy. Among other things, he popularized the expression “law of unintended consequences” to refer to situations when a person does something for one reason, but he or she finds that it produces all sorts of other unexpected results.

In Baptism, We Have Been Claimed

This June, I will celebrate nine years of priesthood. These have been nine years filled with God’s love and mercy. I must say that it has been nine happy years!

Welcoming New Catholics

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio baptized 10 people at St. Leo’s Church, Corona, during the Easter Vigil service. He also confirmed 55.