Who determines what is best for children? The State was concerned about the boy’s health and life. So were the parents. Who decides in such cases? When do parents lose their right to raise their children as they see fit? When should the State intervene?

Ten days after the Ascension, 120 followers of Jesus were gathered in Jerusalem. In obedience to the command of the Lord Jesus, they were waiting and praying for the promise of the Spirit. They may have been very eager for the expected gift, but they were also very fearful. They were meeting behind closed doors.

We have a mission as the Church founded by Jesus Christ. We are sent to stand before our society as a strong witness to truth and justice and as a constant and clear voice for the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of all life. The opposition is strong.

Storefront churches, stone cathedrals, synagogues, temples and mosques break the secular landscape of the United States. Their presence stands as a witness to the voices of believers raised to God in prayer.

With the retirement of Supreme Court Justice David Souter, our new President will have his chance at appointing his first Supreme Court judge. Other appointments will surely follow. The President has made clear his own understanding of the qualifications needed for the post.

In today’s society, the principle of tolerance has become the clarion call for people of diverse views, moral convictions and religious beliefs to live together with a sense of civility to one another. By its definition, tolerance is inclusive.

In 1878, President Hayes and his wife Lucy officially opened the White House grounds to the children for an egg roll event on Easter Monday. Except during the two World Wars, weather permitting, all the Presidents after Hayes have continued this tradition.

On December 19, 2008, after allowing four months for public debate, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a regulation that protected the freedom of health care professionals.

The New Testament reports the many times that the Risen Lord appears to his disciples. Nonetheless, neither friend nor foe actually witnessed the very moment when Jesus was taken up into heavenly glory. Believers and non-believers saw the empty tomb.

The road to Calvary runs right through the ministry of Jesus. Three times he tells his disciples that he “must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days” (Mk.8:31-33; cf. 9:30-32, 10:32-34).

This week, I wrote to each of our priests to thank them for being available every Monday night for confessions during Lent. During this special time of prayer and penance, each of our parishes is remaining open from 7 P.M. to 8:30 P.M every Monday in March so that there is ready access to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

At the very beginning of his public ministry, Jesus chooses John and his brother James as his disciples (Mk1:16-20). The two are the sons of Zebedee, a fisherman of some means. The name of their mother is not explicitly stated.

By now, most of us are familiar with the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). The most radical pro-abortion legislation ever proposed. The contents of this bill are a serious threat to the sacredness of life, the freedom of “conscience clause” for health care workers and to quote Cardinal Francis George, the President of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, “a threat to Catholic Health Care Institutions and Catholic Charities.”

Today, it has become somewhat fashionable either to deny or to ignore the existence of the devil. Yet, we face more and more the devastating reality of evil in our world. The constant wars and the countless deaths of innocent civilians, including children caught in the crossfire;

In the 19th century, Catholics came face to face with prejudice and disdain for Catholicism. The Catholic school was a response. It was the privileged place where the great Catholic tradition could be passed on.

As the United States receives with great enthusiasm its 44th President, great hopes have been ignited and expectations have risen to a fever pitch. The country is poised for change. But not all change is progress. Not all change is good.

Almost 5,000 years ago, the architect Imhotep built the earliest known pyramid to house the body of the pharaoh Djoser. To honor their dead, Greek aristocrats in the sixth century B.C. built lavish funeral monuments along the roads near Athens. The Romans also honored the dead