Readers and friends: The explosive Feast of Pentecost will be upon us soon. I use that word explosive deliberately because that is exactly what happened. Scripture tells us that on the 50th day after the Resurrection of Jesus an event occurred in Jerusalem that could only be described as the Spirit’s descent in wind and fire. That’s a fact.
CatholicAnchor.org Where are the Christians? I like that the U.S. Congress opens with a prayer and that “In God We Trust” still survives in print on our money. However, recent news reports seem to suggest that Christian values are fading when the reflex too often is to kill. When one state passes a law enabling…
CatholicAnchor.org Regardless of what we believe about sexual morality, those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender must be treated with the dignity and compassion due them as members of the human family. This is without exception and justice demands it. This means we need to speak up for them during family dinners…
CatholicAnchor.org Gov. Sean Parnell signed legislation April 17 to prohibit Alaska abortion practitioners from being reimbursed by the state for performing so called “elective” abortions that are not necessary to preserve the life or physical health of the mother. The legislation underwent a series of contentious hearings before final passage and it failed to draw…
CatholicAnchor.org “Why Catholic?,” a scriptural and catechetical program for parish small groups presented by Renew International, has experienced increasing popularity since beginning two years ago in the Archdiocese of Anchorage. The program received a boost in May when Franciscan Sister Maureen Colleary visited for five days, giving mini-retreats in several archdiocesan parishes. Sister Colleary serves…
CatholicAnchor.org In an effort to solidify relationships that have provided the Anchorage Archdiocese with much needed priests and religious, Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz visited South Korea earlier this spring. His travels took him to the Diocese of Cheongju, which has sent priests and religious sisters to serve the Anchorage Korean Catholic Community for many years….
CatholicAnchor.org Earlier this year, Father Michael Shields received an invitation to give an eight-day retreat in Rome for nuns of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity congregation. He had no idea that the invite would land him face to face with Pope Francis, in the pontiff’s private chapel. Since the early 1990s Father Shields has served…
CatholicAnchor.org Michael Lucas defeated hundreds of young wrestlers on his way to becoming a national champion this past March. Having just completed 8th grade at Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage, Lucas’ success on the mat is a continuation of his wrestling dominance the past five years in Alaska. Lucas recently traveled to Virginia Beach to…
CatholicAnchor.org After living as an atheist lesbian, Melinda Selmys converted to Catholicism and has authored several books, including “Sexual Authenticity: An Intimate Reflection on Homosexuality and Catholicism.” She writes and speaks regularly about issues pertaining to the church and the LGBTQ community. In May she traveled to Alaska in order to participate in two public…
Notes there’s ‘something special’ in Anchorage One of the highest ranking clerics in the Catholic Church — Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York — addressed Catholic high school students in Anchorage telling them, “You are worth every ounce of sacrifice” that goes into Catholic education. More than 100 students and faculty members…