One of America’s greatest social reformers, writers and statesmen lived when this country was being torn apart by racial prejudice and the horror of slavery. Frederick Douglass was known both in the North and in the South as well as abroad.
In the 17th century, the Flemish chemist J.B. Van Helmont coined the word gas. In 1907, the American humorist G. Burgess coined the word blurb to describe a short summary or brief advertisement. And, most recently, in 2006, Noah Glass coined the word twitter for mass text-messaging with short updates or “tweets.”
According to a recent survey, church goers in America came out ahead of non-church goers in their charitable donations. Individuals who are religious and practice their faith also volunteer and engage more frequently in random acts of kindness. (Cf. Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, 2010).
On January 3, 2012, the Herald News published a letter to the editor entitled “Diocese Should End Neglect of Cathedral.” The North Haledon resident who took pen to paper and sent his thoughts to the press certainly values the importance of our cathedral. We share with him - and with many others - the desire to see the cathedral repaired and reopened.