Editorials

Promise kept, prayer answered

Wed, 16 May 2012 22:57:06 +0000

Twenty years ago Pope John Paul II gave us an apostolic exhortation whose very title alone continues to inspire hope and confidence within the People of God: "Pastores Dabo Vobis (I Shall Give you Shepherds)". Fully aware of God's timeless and never-ending promise to His people through His prophet Jeremiah, John Paul reminded us of Our Lord's faithful and loving care for His flock. He, in His wisdom, knows that ever we must be shepherded; we cannot lead ourselves. He, in His loving, guiding and guarding way, gives us ever His own shepherding care through the priests we so need here on earth.

Editorial | Great communication calls for great responsibility

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:05:46 +0000

In a recent talk to Catholic communicators, Cardinal Raymond Burke explained that those working in the field of communications have an obligation to save souls and to safeguard the truth of Church teaching.

Editorial | The new evangelization fits everywhere, even the most unlikely places

Wed, 02 May 2012 20:47:13 +0000

Picture the scene: Skaters clad in helmets and pads, racing down a winding ice hill at speeds up to 40 mph, while tens of thousands of cheering spectators lined the course with the Cathedral of St. Paul in Minneapolis serving as a picturesque backdrop.

“Imagine” Catholic schools as an option

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:08:30 +0000

The Imagine charter schools are closing and as many as 3,800 St. Louis children will have to attend new schools. Parents wonder what the future holds for their children. Some may transfer their children to the St. Louis public schools. This could be a good option for some children; the St. Louis public schools appear to be improving and student test scores are higher than those in the closing Imagine schools. But imagine offering another option as well, namely Catholic schools.

Editorial | 'The crown of the old is wide experience' (Sirach 25:6)

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:47:38 +0000

How often have we heard someone -- perhaps our own selves -- say, "If only I had known then what I know now ..."? That this is so common an expression shows us that there is a wisdom, an insight, an understanding borne only of experience. The learning of our years, even with their misjudgments and missed opportunities, sets the stage for clear thinking and overall, well-rounded direction for the future.

Editorial | Easter is a season to rejuvenate our souls

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:40:48 +0000

Easter is a season and not merely a one-day celebration. In the Catholic Church, we observe this season from Easter Sunday until Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and the Church was born. We fully celebrate Christ's resurrection, which plucks us from the death of sin and moves us toward a life of grace.

Editorial | Because Christ is alive

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:33:11 +0000

Because Christ is alive, there is the Church. Because Christ is alive, no one needs to live without hope. Such is the power of the Easter message -- that He is risen as He said.

While society continues toward complete secularization, the Easter people, as an early Father of the Church refers to us, stand tall and resolute. We have hope. We have confidence because we have seen it all before.

St. John peered into the empty tomb, saw the burial wrappings, and said of himself: "He saw and believed" (John 20:8).

Holy Week: Door to a Holy Life

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:09:58 +0000

This Sunday we enter into the most solemn and sacred time of the Year of Grace 2012. This week, unlike any other, is the very pinnacle of who and what we are; the most intense expression of our faith, the very embodiment and celebration of all in which we believe. This is the very portrait of Christian discipleship. The way in which we respond to the saving mysteries we celebrate this week truly frames our lives.

Editorial | Though our sins be like scarlet

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:38:35 +0000

"O God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13).

"Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed" (Matthew 8:8).

These two utterances are among the best-known prayers in the Bible. Immediately we recognize the first as the words of the tax collector in the temple area. No less readily do we identify the second as the words of the centurion, who begs that Jesus heal his servant. Moreover, we pray the centurion's words in every celebration of the Eucharist.

Editorial | The fight is not over

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:21:51 +0000

On March 1, the Senate voted 51-48 to table the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. Our other senator, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., failed to join Blunt in standing up for the rights of conscience.

Blunt's legislation had been introduced as an amendment to a highway funding bill.

Editorial | 'What God has joined ...' (Matthew 19:06)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:21:40 +0000

"Father, you have made the union of man and wife so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and His Church. ... By your plan man and woman are united, and married life has been established as the one blessing that was not forfeited by original sin or washed away in the flood" (Nuptial Blessing, Rite of Marriage, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. 1969).

Editorial: Myths, facts about the HHS contraceptive mandate

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:03:43 +0000

After President Barack Obama announced a new plan for mandatory contraceptive coverage in health insurance plans, many media outlets and others considered the matter closed.

Thanks to the voices of people from across the country, supporters of the mandate are hearing that it is far from closed.

The U.S. Catholic bishops said the plan still lacked clear protection for religious employers and insurers. It is "unacceptable and must be corrected," the bishops noted, pledging to continue efforts to correct it through the other two branches of government.

Editorial | Attack on religious freedom unacceptable

teakphillips — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:47:52 +0000

Last week the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would not rescind its mandate that nearly all health plans provide, free of charge, contraceptives, sterilization procedures and abortifacients to "all women with reproductive capacity."

Editorial | Dr. King's challenge and the danger of complacency

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:47:46 +0000

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s presence on the American scene was short and dramatic. It began in 1955 with the Montgomery bus boycott and ended with his assassination in Memphis in 1968.

But through those brief 13 years, his Gospel-grounded voice moved our nation forward in the struggle against racism, poverty, violence and injustice. Working with other people of faith, Dr. King hastened the end of legal discrimination, fostered a national commitment to social justice and launched human rights initiatives at home and abroad.

Editorial | A just and humane immigration system

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:42:32 +0000

This week Catholics across the country paid special attention to immigrants and refugees during National Migration Week.

The observance was begun more than a quarter century ago by the U.S. bishops to give Catholics an opportunity to celebrate the wide diversity of peoples in the Church and the ministries serving them.