I came across this item today about the sale of an original seventh century gospel of St. John to the British Museum, in partnership with Durham University and Durham Cathedral. It was buried with Saint Cuthbert in about 698. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17732310 Cuthbert, who evangelized much of what is now northern England and parts of southern Scotland, was [...]
Recently I ran across this story from last week’s Lifesitenews: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exclusive-homeschooling-families-cant-teach-homosexuality-a-sin-in-class-sa The government of Alberta feels legally obliged to tell home schooling parents in that Canadian province that they must not teach that homosexuality is a sin, although they may convey their “ideology” in a “family setting.” This is because “diversity” must be respected. Presumably, [...]
There has been an article most recently in the Journal of Medical Ethics in defense of infanticide. The editor of the Journal has defended the publication of the article. Details here: http://www.lifesite.net/news/journal-editor-defends-pro-infanticide-piece-killing-newborns-is-already-le When I told my wife about the thesis of the two authors, one a philosopher and the other an ethicist, she said: They make [...]
One would have gotten the impression that Catholic Charities looked favorably on the President’s recent revision of his rulings concerning religious conscience and health coverage. It seems that the impression you received from the media that this was so was not so. Let’s all keep this in mind for the next time. Please see the link [...]
The following is the text of a statement issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a response to President Obama's announced change of his policy concerning federally-mandated health care coverage. It is dated February 10, 2012. I doubt that anything could be more important than the ongoing struggle to preserve religious liberty and [...]
I’ve just come across a news item here. It describes how a new Russian nuclear submarine, the Saint Aleksandr Nevsky, will be fitted with an Orthodox chapel as soon as it completes its sea trials. This will be the sixth consecrated military chapel in the Russian Navy. That would have been inconceivable twenty years ago, and [...]
I came across a video today that shows something of the vast crowd of people who have come to view and venerate a relic of the Blessed Virgin in Russia. You can see it here: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=43841 The fervor, faith and devotion of the people are striking and most moving. But the story also reports that certain [...]
I recently came across the web site of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. It’s a spectacular presentation that moves in a 360 degree perspective around this holy space, in full color. The original cathedral was blown up by the Bolsheviks. Stalin planned to erect the world’s tallest building on the site, and a [...]
I ran across this piece on the Web today: http://ministryvalues.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1505&Itemid=214 The first paragraph gives the gist of the article: By Stephen K. Ryan Vladimir Putin, on Thursday, travelled to the St. Petersburg airport to meet the relic known as the "Belt of the Virgin Mary The relic is a highly revered Orthodox piece of antiquity credited [...]
One of the good things about You Tube, despite all the trash that gets onto it, is that you can find music that otherwise you might only locate in shops and from dealers specializing in hard to obtain recordings. I've been watching and listening recently to video presentations of Russian and Ukrainian folk music. Ukrainian Cossack [...]
