CatholicAnchor.org “I never tire of repeating those words of which take us to the very heart of the Gospel: ‘Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.’” Pope Francis offered…
CatholicAnchor.org I serve as a Catholic priest in a country that suffered under Communist materialism where God was an enemy of the state, the church needed destroying and faith in Christ was considered no better than superstition. For nearly a century, Christians across the world have offered prayers for the conversion of Russia. Is it…
CatholicAnchor.org A resolution has been making its way through the Alaska Legislature to enable more parents across the state to choose private schools for their children — and unless it is considered and passed this session, the bill will die. Introduced last February by Senators Mike Dunleavy, Fred Dyson, Pete Kelly, John Coghill, and…
CatholicAnchor.org The Anchorage Archdiocese has three men studying at St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. — Arthur Roraff, Robert Whitney and Kevin Klump. These seminarians, all in different phases of formation, are on pace to be ordained to the priesthood over the next four years. In December the Catholic Anchor connected with two of…
CatholicAnchor.org From 1965 until 2013, the total number of priests in the United States dropped from 58,632 to 39,600. During the same years, the total number of graduate level seminarians dropped from 8,325 to 3,694. And yet, the number of self-identified Catholics increased from 48.5 million to 78.2 million. Now a large, aging population…
CatholicAnchor.org My daughter Elizabeth has a home in a charming little town near Philadelphia. One drawback, however, are East Coast squirrels. As a former Alaskan, I know that those in the Last Frontier take pride in size, especially when it comes to conversing with Texans. If it comes down to it, Alaskans will even…
CatholicAnchor.org The Sixth isn’t the only commandment Father Tad Pacholczyk’s December column about “good guilt” told some, but not all, truth. As the 1960s promised to “free” us from our inhibitions about sex, so the 1980s promised to “free” us from our inhibitions about selfish materialism. Today our secular-valued society preaches “Greed is good” and…
CatholicAnchor.org Braving blowing snow and treacherous road conditions, approximately 30 people gathered Dec. 14 in Anchorage for “Conversations with the Archbishop.” The event took place at Holy Cross Church, where enthusiastic attendees showed up to hear Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz share his impressions of the current state of the Catholic Church. Joined by Father Tom…
Religious liberty advocates worry that Anchorage area churches, faith-based organizations and business owners could soon be forced to violate deeply held religious beliefs regarding the issue of homosexuality if a ballot initiative is approved of by voters on April 3.