To anticipate the Enemy’s strategy, we must consider His aims. The Enemy wants to bring the man to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) or otherwise glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another.
Everywhere I turn in Haiti, I see such desperate need. The poverty here is ubiquitous, the need overwhelming. So many Haitians come to the capital hoping to find a job, only to discover that there are no jobs here, either. They end up on the streets, sleeping in doorways, begging for food, washing in dirty pools of water. And there simply is not enough money to take care of them.
Over the weekend TypePad rolled out a change to the way people can login to the Café to leave a comment. It used to be that to login you needed to create a TypePad account. But in these latter days, TypePad has now seen the logic of allowing people to authenticate their identity using their existing accounts on other services.
Under the present law of the United Kingdom, religious organizations are given a very broad ability to not hire people because of their sexual orientation. Apparently too broad, at least according to a European Commission ruling with regard to an EU directive.
Over the weekend Dr. Chuck Robertson, the Presiding Bishop’s Canon, had an op-ed piece published in a Fort Worth newspaper. That, in of itself, isn’t particularly remarkable. But the tone of his piece is.
The scheduled visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Vatican and a meeting with the Pope has taken on greater significance after the release of the Apostolic Constitution. People reading between the lines of the diplomatic language see clear signs of tension.
Think of the various ways, dear friends, by which the master points us toward the coming resurrection, by which the Lord Jesus Christ was made the firstfruit when he raised him from the dead. Let us observe, dear friends, how something like resurrection is so often anticipated in the course of nature. Day and night, for example: the night falls asleep, and the day arises; day departs, and night returns.
In the latest chapter of a protracted public battle, Rep. Patrick Kennedy has been effectively barred from Communion by Thomas Tobin, Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Providence, owing to the representative’s stance on abortion rights.
“Consider this: America spends an average of $450 billion a year every Christmas. How often have you spent money on Christmas presents for no other reason than obligation? How many times have you received a gift out of that same obligation? Thanks, but no thanks, right?”
Gay and lesbian Roman Catholics who contact the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for spiritual guidance can find themselves directed toward programs aimed at helping them become celibate. Called reparative therapy, the programs are provoking national — and even international — protests from critics who say they are ineffective at best and, in some cases, harmful.