Wildfires

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Aug. 4 (Year C) Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21

The author of Ecclesiastes will never win a prize for being the most joyful or hopeful individual in the Bible. 

VATICAN CITY -- Prevention is key in protecting minors from abuse, Pope Francis said.

BEIRUT -- After eight years of war, the faithful in Damascus, Syria, are "so tired," said their new bishop, Syriac Catholic Archbishop John Jihad Battah. Nevertheless, he is returning to his birthplace with enthusiasm.

Authors of dystopian novels are bound to get a lot wrong. After all, they are looking into what they believe will be a dark future which is inherently unpredictable. The year 1984, for example, turned out to be nothing like George Orwell’s famous novel of the same name.

At a recent barbeque, I was telling a long-time friend about a Colombian bishop who planned to exorcise his crime-ridden city of demons by dropping holy water from a helicopter.

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine church leaders said the filing of sedition charges against four Catholic bishops, three priests, and several government critics are "beyond belief."

Sitting on a patio having coffee, Fr. George was watching people rush along in the shadow of the big bank towers. He was silent, contemplating them. 

OTTAWA -- Seventy-two years after the 1947 Marian Congress in Ottawa, pilgrims will look to re-capture the spirit on the very same site of that historic event with the inaugural Lansdowne Rosary Bowl.

WASHINGTON -- Following the news Dr. Leana Wen was fired by Planned Parenthood as its president, several pro-life leaders remarked that the organization was upset the physician had emphasized the need to expand Planned Parenthood services beyond abortion.

WASHINGTON -- Despite the blasphemy law that has roiled Christians in Pakistan, the government has not executed anyone found guilty at trial.