N.Y. archbishop takes stock of challenges in the American Catholic Church

This article says it very well. These are the challenges we regularly address in our Pastoral Council discussions.

N.Y. archbishop takes stock of challenges in the American Catholic Church

Pope Benedict: A Pontiff With a Plan

Pope Benedict: A Pontiff With a Plan

The Teaching Company

In the past I have mentioned my satisfaction of the courses offered by The Teaching Company. Currently I am experiencing The Book of Genesis, a course of 24 half hour lectures by Professor Gary A. Rendsburg who holds the Blanche and Irving Laurie Chair in Jewish History at Rutgers University. So far I have only completed the first six lectures and they have helped in my understanding of the early Church Fathers of the Catholic Church. I look forward to the next 18 lectures.

New Bishop for us

Our new Bishop has been appointed. Bravo.



"Vatican City, March 23 (CNA) .- This morning Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone to become the next Bishop of Oakland, Calif. Currently serving as an auxiliary bishop of San Diego, Bishop Cordileone will become the shepherd of 400,000 Catholics in the Oakland area."

Protect Civil Disobience

While I rarely agree with actions taken by our late President, I support entirely the regulation prohibiting discrimination against health professionals who refuse to practice procedures they consider evil. I oppose abortion believing it to be a serious sin. But I also oppose making it criminal. If Obama is successful in repealing the regulation, doctors and others will be forced to perform abortions.

WASHINGTON (CNS)—To combat what they see as threats to the conscience rights of health care professionals who oppose abortion, the Catholic Medical Association and other organizations are taking both legal and educational steps.The Philadelphia-based Catholic Medical Association, which has some 1,100 members nationwide, has joined with the Christian Medical Association and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists in an effort to intervene legally against lawsuits filed by the attorneys general of eight states, Planned Parenthood of America and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. The suits seek to overturn a Department of Health and Human Services regulation that codifies several existing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination against health professionals who decline to participate in abortions or other medical procedures because of their religious or other moral objections. On Feb. 27, the Obama administration announced it
was reviewing a proposal to rescind the regulation, which took effect two days before the inauguration of President Barack Obama. After the review by the Office of Management and Budget, the proposal is to be published in the Federal Register, opening a 30-day period for public comment.

Year of St. Paul the Apostle

During lent our parish, St. Rose of Lima, has a weekly bible study focusing on St. Paul. This promises to be a lively discussion proving that Paul remains exciting and provoking even after 2000 years.

Vatican Launches Youtube

This channel offers news coverage of the main activities of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and of relevant Vatican events.It is updated daily.Video images are produced by Centro Televisivo Vaticano (CTV), texts by Vatican Radio (RV) and CTV.This video-news presents the Catholic Church's position regarding the principal issues of the world today.Links give access to the full and official texts of cited documents. Numerous videos give me quick access to the statements of the Holy Father. In addition I added this channel to my Google page. The url is www.youtube.com/vatican.