News - June 2018 RSS Feed

I recently received a letter from a young Catholic husband and father in which he observed: “Peers of mine who are converts or reverts have specifically cited teachings like ‘Humanae Vitae,’ ‘Familiaris Consortio,’ and ‘Veritatis Splendor’ as beacons that set the church apart from the world and other faiths.” What he suggests might seem counterintuitive, but it is borne out by experience: The church does not grow by going along with the world, but by confidently proclaiming the truth about the human person revealed by Christ.

VATICAN CITY – How is it that God in heaven can hear the cries of the poor, but so many people watching or standing nearby either cannot or just do not care, Pope Francis asked.

In the 50 years since it was built, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, perched on the redwood slopes of Mount Tamalpais has become an iconic feature of Mill Valley’s small-town landscape.

St. Cecilia parishioner Mary Chien spent a little more than a year in prison in Communist China during the 1950s. Her crime was belonging to the Legion of Mary, which Mary says the Communists thought was a military operation.

It has been my good luck to know Paul Totah, longtime communications director and much else at St. Ignatius Prep, for all of my near 35 years as a chancery grunt. When I heard that he was retiring I checked in with him and was glad to hear that he is not coming to a stop, just taking his foot off the gas a bit.

Father Kenneth Weare, longtime pastor of St. Rita Parish in Fairfax, has been appointed by the California Catholic Conference of Bishops to serve on the newly formed Ad Hoc Committee on Environmental Stewardship.

Ten years ago, the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael were one of eight other communities of women religious who founded the Religious Communities Investment Fund, a portfolio of investments in projects that promote economic justice, compassion, human dignity and environmental stewardship.

Students pictured are among those honored at recent graduation ceremonies.

With the recent birth of the third child of Prince William of Wales and his wife Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, came a great deal of speculation as to what name they would choose. At the birth of their firstborn there was even greater expectation that the name chosen would speak to the traditions and institutions of English history, particularly of the monarchy, as the child, along with his father, (the future William V) and grandfather (the future Charles III) are in direct succession to the British crown, following Queen Elizabeth II. With the name, George, the young prince will become the seventh of that name to sit on the throne of England, the continuation of a dynasty of Hanoverian monarchs, who eventually took the more British name of Windsor during World War I. Truly the name of the future George VII speaks to the history of the current ruling dynasty, as well as the historical Act of Succession that only a Protestant should sit on the English throne.

Anyone who has ever watched a fire knows that at a point the flames subside and disappear into smoldering coals which themselves eventually cool and turn into cold, gray ash. But there’s a moment in that process, before they cool off, that the coals can be stirred so as to make them burst into flame again.

The bizarre comment and the weird gesture have not, until recently, been associated with high-ranking churchmen. Both, alas, were on vivid display last month when Cardinals Reinhard Marx and Gianfranco Ravasi had more than a few of us scratching our heads in wonderment.

The “reasoning” set forth by Cardinal-designate Luis Ladaria (“Teaching on all-male priesthood is definitive cardinal-designate says,” June 7) that because Jesus only conferred the sacrament of priestly ordination on 12 male apostles, the church lacks authority to confer the sacrament on women, makes little sense. By this theory, the priesthood should be denied to all non-Jews (which would likely result in the exclusion of Cardinal Ladaria to the priesthood) since Jesus “conferred the sacrament” only on Jewish males. If the later church felt free to dispense with the Jewish requirement for the priesthood, then the male requirement must be equally dispensable.

It is good to learn what others think about important issues (“Cardinal: Separating abortion from Title X funds ‘greatly needed,’” May 24), so Cardinal Dolan’s comments were interesting. Whether you agree with some or none of them, there is no denying the Democratic Party of today is changed. It was rather startling recently to hear the comments of some Democrats regarding abortion. They stated if a baby should happen to survive a botched abortion it should not receive any medical assistance. Hard to believe, and, as a well-seasoned senior citizen, I couldn’t help but wonder about their thoughts regarding the elderly and disabled.

The article put forth by George Weigel (“The Holy See, China and evangelization,” May 24) regarding the Vatican and Peoples Republic of China approach was not only disrespectful to the Holy See and Cardinal Parolin but also impeded the evangelization in China.

Yes, the name of Jesus can indeed be co-opted (“Christian crowd vows to ‘reclaim Jesus’ from polarized US,” June 7) and we best realize that it can be done across the entire political spectrum, right or left. There are overreaching agendas both ways.

The episcopal ordination of Bishop Robert F. Christian, OP, as San Francisco’s 18th auxiliary bishop on June 5 at San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Cathedral cast the role as one of service over honor and achievement.

All schools hope that their graduates will move on to the next stage of their lives prepared academically, emotionally and socially for whatever they may face in the future, but the schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco instill something that is even more important as our students move forward in life.

As a lifelong Catholic, I do not believe I’ve experienced “The Word” spoken more clearly, more simply, more directly and more eloquently as I have in viewing the documentary, “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word.”

NEW YORK – Veteran filmmaker Wim Wenders respectfully profiles the current successor of St. Peter in the well-crafted, sometimes moving documentary “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word” (Focus). Though Wenders also provides some narration, as his title suggests, he largely lets the pontiff speak for himself.

WASHINGTON – A group of Catholic high school friends has kept in touch – literally – since graduating more than 30 years ago from Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington.