What does it take to win the Catholic vote? According to the U.S. News & World Report, the Democrats are working on that question even as I type. A Roman Catholic nun who leads a social justice advocacy group called Network, Simone Campbell rarely got a phone call from Capitol Hill before the 2006 election.…

Since it’s the feast of the nativity of John the Baptist, some thoughts on baptism seem in order. I’ll be performing my first baptisms next Sunday. Here’s a draft of my homily. — “Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.” Let me tell you about the Jordan River.…

Over at Open Book, Amy has posted an intriguing picture of Tony Blair and Pope Benedict, from their meeting today. The Prime Minister presented the pontiff with a series of pictures of…John Henry Newman. A curious choice, you say? The Catholic Encyclopedia describes Newman thus: Cardinal-Deacon of St. George in Velabro, divine, philosopher, man of…

From the land of Joseph Smith and Mitt Romney comes this nice piece on the diaconate: Amid all the distress among American Catholics over the shrinking number of priests, one bright fact stands out: Nowhere in the world have Catholic men heeded the call to a separate ordained ministry as in the United States. In…

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