On this Sunday that we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ we are suddenly brought face to face with the casualness that has enveloped the meaning and use of this central symbol of our Christian faith. Crucifixes hang on the walls of most Catholic institutions, Catholics, including those stepping up to bat or preparing to make a free throw make the sign of the cross imagining that this will bring success.
Making Sense of Bioethics A June 2014 article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), written by researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institutes of Health, points out that marijuana is not the harmless drug that many imagine. Rather, it is associated with “substantial adverse effects, some of which…
We would, after school, throw rocks on his tin roof until he would come out and yell at us. He was the boogie man of the neighborhood and we were all scared of this strange man. One day on the way to church my dad saw him alongside of the road. To my horror he stopped the car and offered him a ride.
The Catholic Anchor earned seven awards for excellence in journalism at the annual competition sponsored by the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada (CPA).
The awards, for work published in 2013, were announced June 20 at the annual Catholic Media Convention in Charlotte, NC.
The Anchor, now in its 15th year of operation, consistently wins in secular and religious journalism competitions. This year’s seven awards are in addition to the three awards received earlier this year at the annual Alaska Press Association.
Alaskans have a new opportunity for adult faith formation via the internet as the state’s Catholic dioceses enter a partnership with The Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF) at the University of Dayton. Deacon Mick Fornelli has worked with the University of Dayton on the project, which offers adult religious education and faith formation online anytime and anywhere.
More than 400 Catholic school students have filled the hallways, classrooms and chapels of the five schools located in the Anchorage Archdiocese. With the start of the new academic year, educators are offering a variety of options to Alaskan parents seeking to provide their children a faith-based educational alternative to public schools.
People who experience significant barriers to employment, such as lack of education or a criminal history, do not have that positive aspect to their lives. At Brother Francis Shelter (BFS) we work with many in this situation. As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reminds us, work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation.
But that further points to the fact that the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration must act together to provide solid, comprehensive immigration reform, and must present a unified face in deterring misunderstandings across our borders. It’s time to stop playing politics with this problem.
In his recent homily the pope posed a stark question: “When I give alms, do I drop the coin without touching the hand (of the poor person, beggar)? And if by chance I do touch it, do I immediately withdraw it?”
Catholic charity is not a matter of mere correct belief — it’s touching the flesh of the poor and thereby loving the Body of Christ.
Today this eminent Montessori approach is nurturing the faith of thousands of toddlers to tweens worldwide. Since its founding in 1954, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has flourished in 37 countries and more than 1,250 locations in the U.S., including adapted versions in Episcopal and Orthodox settings. Yet in the Archdiocese of Anchorage, CGS subsists only as a little known gem within St. Patrick Church and on a limited basis at Holy Family Cathedral, both in Anchorage.