Category: Columns

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Tony Magliano

Respect life! Challenge the culture of death!

St. Pope John Paul II, in his powerful encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae (“The Gospel of Life”), challengingly said, “How can we fail to consider the violence against life done to millions of human beings, especially children, who are forced into poverty, malnutrition, and hunger because of an unjust distribution of resources between peoples and between social classes?

“And what of violence inherent not only in wars as such, but in the scandalous arms trade, which spawns the many armed conflicts which stain our world with blood?

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Bishop Robert Barron

Cardinal Etchegaray, Fr. de Lubac, and Vatican II

On September 4, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray passed away. Perhaps his was not a household name, but this very decent man made a substantive contribution to the life of the Church, serving in a number of different capacities over the years and collaborating closely with Pope John Paul II.

I had the privilege of meeting him in the mid 1990s when he visited Mundelein Seminary, where I was serving as professor of theology. The Cardinal wanted to address the community, but his English was a bit shaky, so I translated for him. But I recall that his smile and evident joy in the Lord needed no translation whatsoever.

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Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D.

Contradictory suicide messaging

In July 2014, police found the body of 18-year-old Conrad Roy inside his truck in Fairhaven, Mass. He had died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

As the case unfolded, it became apparent that a friend of his, 17-year-old Michelle Carter, had encouraged him toward suicide. In a series of texts, she repeatedly pressured him to go through with it by sending messages like, “You keep pushing it off and say you’ll do it but u never do. It’s always gonna be that way if u don’t take action.”

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Fr. Steve Grunow

God’s timing and the petitions of St. Monica

Word on Fire
Fr. Steve Grunow

St. Monica was likely born in the year A.D. 331 and died in the year A.D. 387 . Her husband was a Roman of minor nobility named Patricius, and with Patricius, Monica had three children, one of whom was named Augustine.

Augustine would become one of the premiere converts to the Catholic faith, and his works of theology and spirituality are among the greatest of the treasures of the Church.

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Tony Magliano

No back to school fun for child laborers

It’s that special time of the year again for kids in the northern hemisphere as they start heading back to school. And for those who have discovered the fun of learning, school is an adventure!

But for millions of working children worldwide, the adventures of a new school year remain but a dream. Sadly, these children will never learn to read or write. They will not acquire computer skills. They will not experience singing in chorus, going on field trips, or playing at recess.

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