Adults getting confirmed often surprised by spiritual boost
The Catholic Sentinel in the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., says adult Catholics who receive the sacrament of confirmation — either because they missed it as a child or for other reasons — discover that they’ve been awakened to some unexpected feelings about their faith.
Computer ‘podcast’ connects with Catholic men
A podcast aimed at men on the upcoming Sunday Scripture readings is being unveiled in Pittsburgh this month before going national on Father’s Day. The Pittsburgh Catholic provides the details.
Finding hope amid disaster
You can find before and after photos of St. Joseph Church in Greensburg, Kan., and several stories about the May tornado that destroyed 95 percent of the town on this page of The Southwest Kansas Register, newspaper of the Diocese of Dodge City.
Voice of the Faithful facing financial, membership crisis
Voice of the Faithful, the New England-based church reform group founded in the wake of the clergy sex abuse crisis, is now in a financial crisis of its own, according to iobserve.org, the Web site of The Catholic Observer in Springfield, Mass. The story notes, among other things, that the organization has not yet posted an audited financial statement for the last fiscal year, though it led an unsuccessful effort to require churches to file audited financial statements, and that the organization’s new mission statement avoids issues like priestly celibacy or women’s ordination.
Priesthood came from ‘dreaming big’
A new priest in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is a man born deaf who dreamed of entering the priesthood. “My parents instilled in me that I should never let my deafness interfere with what I want to do,” says the new ordinand, Carmelo Giuffre, in an interview with the Catholic Herald of Milwaukee.
Redesigned ‘Catholic Trends’ gives insight to modern church
Time to toot our own horn: We’ve totally redesigned Catholic Trends, our every-other-week newsletter that keeps you on top of the latest developments in church life and practice. Pastors, religious orders, libraries, pastoral councils, campus ministers, hospital chaplains and many others can find valuable information in Catholic Trends to keep them informed in their ministries and professional lives.
Better yet, we’ve also switch Catholic Trends to an e-product so you don’t have to wait for postal delivery. We’ll e-mail you a notice as soon as a new edition is published with a link that you can download or print. And best of all, a one-year subscription is only $25.
Take a look at this sample issue for an example of the broad spectrum of topics that Catholic Trends regularly covers. There’s also a convenient order form to get your subscription started.
Catholic Trends: A Catholic News Service digest for the modern church.
Archbishop learns XLT, then has an LOL moment
Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta writes in The Georgia Bulletin that he knows how to send a text message, though he’s not very good at it, but he recently came across a new texting acronym — XLT — that he found represents youthful energy in praise of God. The archbishop’s column ends with an LOL thought of his own.
Disability doesn’t dampen competitor’s commitment
The Catholic Explorer in the Diocese of Joliet, Ill., tells the story of a high school senior with cerebral palsy whose love of sports led her to be an integral part of her Catholic school’s basketball team. Despite her limitations, Annie Huguelet says she feels blessed by God to be able to accomplish something many in her situation could not.