July 13, 2020—In the early morning hours Saturday, firefighters responded to a fire at the San Gabriel Mission where they found a massive blaze engulfing the roof and front entrance of the church, San Gabriel Fire Department fire captain Antonio Negrete told CNN. The church sits about 11 miles northeast of Los Angeles. When firefighters…
I am happy, and even relieved, to be able to let you all know that we will again be open for Masses this weekend. And we will be celebrating the 4th of July. Open, but very Carefully Open. Which should go without saying. But when you are dealing with a lethal epidemic nothing goes without…
After a mob tore down statues, including a figure of St. Junípero Serra statue, in a San Francisco park, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was joined by several dozen Catholics Saturday in prayer and acts of spiritual reparation. “Evil has made itself present here. So we have gathered together to pray for God, to ask the saints…for…
Fr. Stephen Schumacher, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, was among the defenders of a prominent statue of the city’s namesake as protesters called for its removal Saturday. Umar Lee, an organizer of the protests, said June 27 that the statue “is gonna come down,” reported Joel Currier of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.…
CNA—According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, some 200 people were at the protest on Saturday. Catholics defending the statue at the protest prayed the rosary and sang, and several police officers separated them from the protesters. The Archdiocese of St. Louis on Sunday released a statement defending the city’s namesake, amid calls from activists to…
Los Angeles Times—The good news for anyone praying for a little less online vitriol or a much faster internet connection is that the Vatican is on the case. Showing that it has one foot in the 21st century, the ancient institution is backing a 15-year-old computer whiz to become the first patron saint of the…
Personally, I am not a fan of “Executive Orders,” regardless of which U.S. President issues them. However, when our national historic heritage is at stake and when local police and city officials do NOTHING to stop mad mob destruction of our historic monuments, maybe I’ll make an exception, especially if a bill is also introduced…
In a disturbing decision released this morning (June 29, 2020), five U.S. Supreme Court justices struck down a Louisiana law that offered the most basic of health protections for women seeking abortions. Why would anyone – let alone the high court of the land – oppose such a commonsense law? Because, according to Dr. James…
As the local churches gradually open again, one is reminded of the persistence of Benjamin Stoddert Ewell, president of the College of William and Mary, ringing the school bell during seven years of closure after the Civil War. It is yet to be seen how many return to our churches after the quarantine, but the…
CNA—Edmond Ilg, 62, has been a father since the birth of his son in 1986. But on June 21, he became a “father” in a whole new sense: Edmond was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark (New Jersey). It was Father’s Day. Making the day even more special, it was Edmond’s son —…
Pope Francis has approved the inclusion of three additional invocations in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called the Litany of Loreto. In a June 20 letter to the presidents of bishops’ conferences, Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for the Divine Liturgy and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said the invocations…
CNA—As rioters across the United States target statues depicting historical figures, the Bishop of Madison, Wisconsin on Tuesday denounced that destruction, along with calls to destroy some depictions of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgina Mary. “Should certain statues be placed in museums or storage? Perhaps. Should we let a group of vandals make those…
After the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Jews relied on literacy to preserve their culture, with the Mishna as the written record of what until then had been an oral tradition of rabbinic commentaries. While functional illiteracy seems to have been common, our Lord asked his listeners at least…
The Mentors Radio, a popular and unique business & ethics radio show now in its Fourth Year, has a new time slot on AM860 The Answer in the San Francisco Bay Area, now airing at 1:00 pm every Saturday. Produced by the Catholic Business Journal, the radio show and radio podcast features three remarkable and…
In his weekly column, Archbishop José H. Gomez called for nationwide support to keep Catholic schools open as many Catholic schools throughout the nation face permanent closure because of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on education funding by the end of this month. The Archbishop…
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has said it will define sex as determined by biology — male and female. The Obama administration had defined sex as “one’s internal sense of gender.” HHS announced it has finalized a rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that restores the traditional definition and…
Some might say that Catholic Marketing Network (CMN) is one of the best kept secrets in the Church. But the reality is that CMN is a well-known resource and membership network for Catholic retailers—both for Catholic stores and religious goods vendors. Now its doors have been widened. For nearly 30 years the organization has held…
As our society gradually unwinds the Covid-19 shutdowns and people reenter the public workforce, we’re seeing new government efforts to “protect” us whether we like it or not. This increasingly involves mandatory health screenings and various forms of technology-assisted “contact tracing,” including new smartphone apps to identify people who are sick or have associated with…
At the start of my college career my main hesitation had a lot to do with my Catholic faith. My biggest fear was that with all the distractions college provided, even those not inherently bad like school, work, and sports, I would lose my faith. And that fear was very real, but by the grace…
Robert Gould Shaw was born into an abolitionist Unitarian family in Boston in 1837. When he was ten, they settled on Staten Island. An uncle who became a Catholic priest paid for his tuition at what is now the Fordham Preparatory School. As a somewhat distracted student, Shaw never completed his studies (who does?)…
