Category: Columns

On
Patrick Gorman

Taking a closer look at the council

Year of Faith column logo

Mother Church Rejoices! With his typically optimistic words, Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council on October 11, 1962. Today, we share that same joy as we commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Council that Pope John frequently referred to as “a new Pentecost.”

The first document issued by the Council was the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. It was one of only four Constitutions (which are of the highest rank of Church teachings) issued by the Council. The goals of the entire Council are laid out in the first paragraph: to increase the vigor of people’s Christian life, to adapt those things which may be changed to the needs of our own times, to promote Christian unity, and to help all people come to know Christ in the Church.

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Audrey Mettel Fixmer

Catholic education provided for generations

Grandmom column by Audrey Fixmer

“Don’t you want to be a teacher?” asked my friend Joan just weeks before we were to graduate from Madonna High School in Aurora, Ill.

This was the all-girls’ class of 1945, where we were taught by Franciscans Sisters. We had both been accepted by St. Ben’s in Minnesota, where we would be taught by Benedictines.

I was confused. “What do you mean, a teacher? I don’t want to be a nun, you know.”

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Sr. Constance Carolyn Veit, LSP

Who gets to decide when to let go of life?

As a child I idolized my grandfather. One of my fondest memories is of him taking us to a neighborhood restaurant that had a little juke box in each booth. He would give my sisters and me a few quarters and we’d flip to the oldies to play Grandpa’s favorites.

From time to time I still hear those classics playing in my memory ­ from “Moon River” and “Doctor Zhivago” to “Love is a Many Splendored Thing.”

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On
Christopher Stefanick

The Rules of Engagement

Real Life Cathoic by Christopher Stefanick

Since 1945, the New York Archdiocese has hosted the Al Smith dinner, a black-tie event named in honor of Alfred E. Smith, the first Catholic presidential candidate.

Millions have been raised through the dinner to support charities in New York City. Speakers have included Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Bob Hope, and, during election years, presidential candidates invited as the guests of honor.

It’s a break from debate. It’s not an endorsement and no awards are given. Candidates’ speeches take on a humorous tone. As described by the Al Smith Foundation Web site: “In the days before Saturday Night Live, the Al Smith dinner served as a kind of ‘proving ground for the candidate as entertainer,’ as one reporter described it.”

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Loving those with disabilities

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Many of us have hidden fears and hesitations when it comes to dealing with persons with severe disabilities. Their unfamiliar gestures, behaviors, and limitations can challenge us and infringe on our comfort zones.

We may be tempted to apply a different standard when we deal with them. Even very young children with disabilities may suffer discrimination through denial of care as newborns, or through abortion in utero.

Santorums’ daughter Bella

During his presidential campaign, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and his wife Karen were often asked by people on the campaign trail about their daughter Bella, who was born with Trisomy 18, a severe genetic defect caused by an extra chromosome.

Such children tend to have shorter lifespans, with 90 percent dying during the first year of life. Nevertheless, with proper care, some can live well into their teens, and even into their 20’s or 30’s.

Bella became known to the public during her father’s candidacy in part because of several memorable moments during the TV debates where Rick powerfully described how Bella’s birth and struggles had impacted their family.

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