- Return to regular schedule
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With this issue, Catholic Times returns to its regular bi-weekly schedule, after special coverage of the reception and installation of Bishop Thomas John Paprocki.
The next issue of Catholic Times will be July 18.
- CNS News
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3 Minute Roundup
| Pope announces pontifical council for new evangelization |
| VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI announced he is establishing a pontifical council for new evangelization to find ways “to re-propose the perennial truth of the Gospel” in regions where secularism is smothering church practice. Leading an evening prayer service June 28 at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Pope Benedict said there are areas of the globe that have been known as Christian for centuries, but where in the past few centuries “the process of secularization has produced a serious crisis” in people’s sense of what it means to be Christian and to belong to the church. “I have decided to create a new organism, in the form of a pontifical council, with the principal task of promoting a renewed evangelization in the countries where the first proclamation of faith has already resounded and where there are churches of ancient foundation present, but which are living through a progressive secularization of society and a kind of ‘eclipse of the sense of God,’” he said. The pope did not say what the formal name of the pontifical council would be and he did not announce who would head it, although in the weeks leading to the announcement, Vatican commentators suggested it would be Italian Archbishop Rino Fisichella, currently president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. (CNS) |
| High court won’t review case claiming Vatican liable for abuser |
| WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has left standing a lower court ruling that will allow an Oregon man to try to hold the Vatican financially responsible for his sexual abuse by a priest, if he can persuade the court that the priest was an employee of the Vatican. By declining to take Holy See v. John Doe, the court June 28 left intact the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said because of the way Oregon law defines employment, the Vatican is not protected under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act from potential liability for the actions of a priest who Doe, the unidentified plaintiff, said sexually abused him in the 1960s. The case will now go back to U.S. District Court, where Doe’s attorneys will attempt to prove that the late Andrew Ronan, a former Servite priest who was laicized in 1966, was a Vatican employee at the time the events took place. In order for the District Court to have ruled that the case could move forward, a lower standard of having adequately “pleaded” a connection between Ronan and the Vatican had to be met. Before the issue of liability of the Holy See can be addressed, Doe’s attorneys will have to persuade the court under a higher standard “proving” that Ronan was a Vatican employee. (CNS) |
| Sainthood cause opened for Brooklyn priest who fought bigotry |
| BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In the midst of a New York heat wave, a small parish in Brooklyn opened a new chapter in the diocese’s history. About 200 people gathered June 24 at St. Peter Claver Church for the formal opening of an inquiry into the cause of canonization of Msgr. Bernard J. Quinn, who spent his life advocating for African-American Catholics in the Diocese of Brooklyn. Msgr. Quinn, who was born in 1888 and died in 1940, was founding pastor of the all-black St. Peter Claver Parish and founder of Little Flower Children Services to care for black orphans. Today, St. Peter Claver is one of three worship sites in St. Martin de Porres Parish in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. After vespers on the feast of St. John the Baptist, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn spoke about his personal connection to Msgr. Quinn. A little more than a year ago, on his 65th birthday, the bishop underwent coronary bypass surgery. The doctors considered the surgery a success, he said, but a week later he found himself back in the hospital after fainting. He said blood clots in his lungs and heart threatened his life, and during the fervor that surrounded his second surgery, Msgr. Quinn came to his mind. He could not say why he thought of him or whether it was a miracle, but his prayers to him during that period have turned into a wellspring of devotion. (CNS) |
Picking up motivation to achieve your dreams
Eminem is definitely not my favorite rapper, so it surprised me when I listened to his contribution to the recent pop song Airplanes and found myself agreeing with him wholeheartedly.
Responsibility: A fact of life that can save lives
In 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Alaska, coating miles and miles of sensitive seashore with slick, black oil. For the next few months, television showed white birds dragging oil-slicked wings up rocky beaches, thousands of dead fish washed up on shore and workers in white hazmat suits scrubbing seals with soft-bristled brushes.
Doing what is right, no matter what the cost
Would you take your clothes off for $1 million?
It’s one of those truth-or-dare questions you get asked at slumber parties but don’t really ever expect to deal with in real life — unless you work in Hollywood.
Tips for teens on navigating religion and politics
There’s an old saying about religion and politics — namely, that if you’re in mixed company or at a party, you should avoid talking about either topic. In so-called “polite company,” the two subjects are considered to be conversational minefields — emotionally charged, controversial and full of potential for disagreement and anger.
Heroes: They don’t give up
What is a “hero”?
When you think of the word, do you think of a classical hero like Hercules or Theseus? Do you see Superman, Batman or Tony Stark? Do you think of someone more like Gandhi or Mother Teresa?
Do you think about yourself?
No talent is small when it brings joy to others
When you think of talented people, what immediately springs to mind? Pop singers? Artistic prodigies?
When I think of talent, my first thoughts are usually of people like Kelly Clarkson, Dwight Howard and Jeff, my class valedictorian — people who are naturally good at their chosen field.
Love greater than trappings of traditional romance
It’s almost time for Valentine’s Day — time for chalky candy hearts, singing telegrams and roses, right?
My friends think about Valentine’s Day in two ways. One group loves it, sends out cards to everyone they know, eats candy hearts by the bushel and takes their significant others out to dinner.
Moving beyond waiting for exciting things to happen
This is how most of our stories are told.
In the beginning, everything is static. Then something happens, something that starts the adventure or moves the story forward. Bella Swan meets Edward Cullen. Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider. Hamlet sees his father’s ghost.
Hurting us over and over
Why do we do things that hurt us — over and over again?
Ask my cat, Fred.