Guest Columnists

Responding to editors’ requests for a regular sampling of current commentary from around the Catholic press, here is an op-ed titled “Homily for a church that has sinned” from the Aug. 23 issue of The Record, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky.

For centuries, the clergy of all faiths have attracted deviants and con artists who need to cloak a of respectability to win the trust of their victims. We must do a better job of weeding them out. The outrage over the pedophile sexual abuse scandal in Pennsylvania is not strong enough, these crimes are beyond horrific. Support for the betrayed victims is our priority. Everyone is ashamed and devastated by this scandal especially the good priests who detest these crimes and are often painted with the same brush. This terrible evil, which has stained the face of Christ must be eliminated.

This commentary titled “Why I want to be a Catholic priest” was written by Deacon Andrew J. De Silva, a seminarian who is slated to be ordained a priest in May 2019 for the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. As a transitional deacon, he is assigned to St. Aloysius Parish in Jersey City and is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves Chaplain Corps.

For some time I have thought about the Holy Land. Why would I go? What would it cost? How would I get there? I have looked at short courses, at Catholic tours, at The Jesus Trail, at spending time at a convent in Jerusalem like Ecce Homo, the pilgrim house of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion.