READER SUBMISSION: Voting roadblocks & vote control are morally wrong
You’ve heard of gun control. What about “vote control?” Below are some disturbing examples.
FORUM
Trauma-informed care makes a difference at Catholic Social Services
Two years ago, Catholic Social Services transitioned from a traditional service model at Clare House to the trauma-informed care model, one that realizes the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery. This new model also seeks to recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, staff and others involved with the system, and it responds by integrating knowledge of trauma into policies, procedures and practices.
Miracles, doubt and building up faith
I like history, I’m fascinated by the historical Jesus, and, let’s face it, cynic that I am sometimes, I want a miracle now and then. Again, who doesn’t?
STUDENT ESSAY: Why I love attending Catholic school
Most people overlook Catholic schools but they are a great source for religious formation and a good source of knowledge and service. Catholic schooling has changed me for the better, and you might just be inspired to take another look at Catholic schools.
Affirming ‘absolute truth’ is not a knock against Christianity
I write this column to young, 20-something Catholics. You are a treasure for the church, and in need of real answers to the hard questions you face. I also write to parents who suffer when a child leaves the church and perhaps even loses her faith in God. Today’s young people need clear answers to questions that come at them from friends, the culture and even family members. Parents need help answering questions children pose. We must do better in this regard because the church is hemorrhaging young people.
Showing mercy in the most challenging situations
Pope Francis calls us to focus on mercy this year, and our society asks us to focus on Child Abuse Awareness for the month of April. But what do mercy and child abuse awareness have in common?
In search of a ‘A Love Supreme’
Love is a serious word, it carries many emotional meanings but fundamentally it conveys the sense that we would be willing to give up all else, not for this thing but for this person or persons, these people who have cast their lot with us and are willing to travel the world’s paths with us until death. Love then is serious business.
The end of Anchorage homelessness is coming into view
A movement is afoot in Anchorage as homelessness and the those experiencing it are increasingly on our minds. It could be because their numbers are higher or that they’re more visible, but it feels like more than that. It feels like people are noticing; people are concerned and standing up to say, “This must change!”
Honoring earth’s Creator in how we eat
And our use of the world’s resources also reflects our relationship to others: when most of the commercial chocolate available is produced by slave labor, often by exploited children, do I have a responsibility to drive across town and buy the cocoa which is in my cupboard now? The one that’s labeled “Equal Exchange, Fairly Traded, Small Farmer Grown” and is much more costly than the kind at the grocery store?
Sticks & stones vs. Christ’s love
stones have been an integral part of planetary existence since Neolithic times, the late stone age, when Stone fragments were used as household grinding implements, weapons of attack, articles of defense or punishment. In short, for millennia stones have served, whether for good or ill, as a means of survival or instruments of vengeance.