Having been on several retreats and visits to St. Andrew’s Abbey years ago—all wonderful, it was with horror and gratitude that I learned of the Abbey’s recent narrow escape from earthly hell; namely, yet another devastating wildfire. This uniquely historic Benedictine monastery is nestled in California’s Mojave Desert, in Valyermo, an unincorporated location of 450…
CNS—In a move apparently related to Vatican financial scandals, Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s resignation as prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes and his renunciation of the rights associated with being a cardinal, the Vatican announced late Sept. 24. The cardinal, 72, told reporters Sept. 25 that Pope Francis told him he was…
CNA—Police are searching for a man who broke into a Catholic church in Florida on Friday and tried to burn it down. The church’s pastor in a Sept. 20 video urged prayers for the man and thanked God that the church survived the attack. Surveillance video shows a young man, shirtless and wearing a surgical…
CNA, with CBJ edits—On April 16, 2016, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador, killing at least 676 people, including a young religious sister called Sr. Clare Crockett. Two years after her death, her order released a film about her remarkable life in both English and Spanish. “All or Nothing: Sr. Clare Crockett” now has more than…
Pat and I have recently returned from a trip to Big Sky, Montana, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks where we took our two recent high school graduate grandchildren – Logan Elisabeth Denmon and Wilson Luke Von Dohlen. This is a tradition for us as each of our 16 grandchildren accomplish graduation from high school.…
Op.Ed, Washington Post—Sept 16, 2020—I never expected that the most basic religious freedom, the right to worship — protected so robustly in our Constitution’s First Amendment — would be unjustly repressed by an American government. But that is exactly what is happening in San Francisco. For months now, the city has limited worship services to…
Joel Manby’s Love Works: Seven Timeless Principles for Effective Leaders is an excellent book that is worth your time and money. Over the course of my career, there have been hundreds of books published on leadership effectiveness. While they all have their own twist, the best of them all share a common thread. They are all…
Picturehouse will open Fatima in theaters and direct to home (PVOD) throughout North America on August 28, 2020, following a grassroots word-of-mouth digital marketing campaign that energized and engaged the core audience, culminating in a series of Pop-Up Drive In Influencer Premieres across the country. The film, acquired by Picturehouse in October, was originally scheduled to…
You’re telling me that 3 Portuguese shepherd children in a dusty field saw and talked with Mary, the Mother of God? People’s first reaction has to be: “You gotta be kidding!” But 70,000 people following the children confirmed what happened. That is the inspiring core of the 1917 miracle at Fatima, which was Mary’s…
A surgeon, retired army officer, missionary and Catholic religious sister is among the featured speakers at this week’s Republican National Convention. The convention, which takes place over four days this week, will officially nominate President Donald Trump for reelection. What’s most remarkable, however, is the life of this consecrated religious. For example, other than Saint…
August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, was purposefully chosen as the official launch of Catholic Business Journal in 2007,. It is a feast day close to the heart of our mission and purpose. The last few months we’ve all watched as a suspicious virus pandemic and expansive Marxist-infused riots and marches—under the guise of…
We hear a lot these days about systemic or institutionalized racism, especially in connection with the police and persisting economic disparity between races. Protesters say historical racism is so embedded in our western culture that we need to erase symbols of our tainted past like statues and the names of cities, schools and sports teams.…
It may not be long before “Ladies and Gentlemen” ceases to start a speech, as the result of blurring the distinction between man and gentleman, and woman and lady. We may not hear at banquets, “Gentlemen, charge your glasses,” or understand the Victorian-era ballad: “My mother was a lady like yours, you will allow.” Putting…
CNA—2020/08/06—At least one massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut Tuesday afternoon, which ignited fires and destroyed buildings in the city’s port area, caused damage across the city, and has reportedly flooded hospitals with casualties. Some local news sources are reporting that at least 10 people are dead, and videos have emerged online showing…
We at Catholic Business Journal are so proud of long-time Catholic Business Journal columnist Thomas M. Loarie, CEO of BryoLogyx, Inc., and one of the three Catholic hosts of The Mentors Radio program which airs weekly in the San Francisco Greater Bay Area and in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth region, for the breakthrough cancer immunology-related…
CNA—Retired politician and Nobel laureate John Hume, a major leader in the effort to secure peace in Northern Ireland, died Monday at the age of 83. Many leaders in the region praised his success in responding to one of Europe’s longstanding conflicts. “I was leader of a great team of people, all of whom have…
A Catholic congressman is asking the U.S. Attorney General to respond to a spate of acts of vandalism against churches around the country. In a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) urged the Justice Department “to protect religious freedom and combat religious discrimination in the United States.” Fleischmann cited…
CNA—Amid steady forecasts of demographic decline, one economics professor says that a COVID-related “baby bust” could be worse than people predicted. A Brookings Institution report published in June said that the economic shock caused by the coronavirus, combined with the social effects of the pandemic itself, could trigger a sharp decline in births. Those predictions…
CNA—Fordham Professor Angela Alaimo O’Donnell has studied Flannery O’Connor, an American Catholic author from the South, rather extensively. She wrote a book on O’Connor’s treatment of racial issues specifically, entitled “Radical Ambivalence: Race in Flannery O’Connor.” Petitioning the University When the Fordham professor heard that Flannery O’Connor’s name would be removed from a residence hall…
CNA—The Chinese Communist Party is offering monetary rewards to those who report the presence of home churches in their communities, the magazine Bitter Winter reported on Thursday. The rewards appear to be an expansion of a program already in place in the province of Heilongjiang, reported earlier this year. In the city of Nenjiang, residents…
