When nurse practitioner Charmika Schuster arrived in Haiti in 2010, she was unprepared for what she would witness over the next few weeks. Her trip came almost a year after a 7.0 earthquake and aftershocks devastated the country...
Taking part in a St. Mary's Academy science program for fifth graders seven years ago is what made Nicole Hurner want to attend St. Mary's. "You bond with your fifth grader," explains Hurner, now a mentor. "The point is to get...
Vietnamese Catholics rang in an auspicious 2012, Year of the Dragon, with its annual Lunar New Year Mass at Our Lady of Lavang Church on Sunday.
Pope Benedict and the nation's Catholic bishops want help from people in the pews to overturn a controversial federal health provision. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Jan. 20 announced that most religious organizations would need to cover contraceptives and sterilization free of charge in their employee health plans, rejecting appeals from Catholic groups to widen the exemption. Friday, January 27, 2012
A panel of experts in Catholic theology and teaching will discuss the notion of rediscovering Catholicism at a session set for 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Lake Oswego.
So one of the priests and the deacon were left standing in the background, watching lay people distribute Holy Communion. This has happened in the past on occasion and left me wondering. Friday, January 27, 2012
For fervency and sincerity in religious faith, no group nor any race can compare to Catholic Mexican-Americans. I have been attending posadas, las mañanitas and other Hispanic religious observances for many years, observing the pure joy in faith of these remarkable people. Monday, January 23, 2012
NEW YORK — The following are capsule reviews of theatrical movies on network and cable television the week of Jan. 29. Please note that televised versions may or may not be edited for language, nudity, violence and sexual situations. Friday, January 27, 2012
It's odd and a little baffling that a film based on our national tragedy of a decade ago should register — for most of its two-hour-plus running time, at least — as uninvolving. Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Only fans of this series — and those incurably incurious enough never to wonder why vampires need all those guns — are likely to find any enjoyment in this episode. Monday, January 23, 2012
Recently it came to my attention that one of the local ministers here in Portland was being honored for revitalizing the faith life of his people and making a difference as a church leader. It’s always good news when a colleague is honored, especially when we are neighbors. But I was disappointed, to say the least, when I learned that this man of God was singled out for recognition because, as was stated, he was reinventing Christianity in post-religious Portland. My friends, that was a troublesome mouthful. Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time E.F. Hutton, the investment firm, aired a commercial in the 1980s that a surprising number of people still remember. It was based on a simple phrase: “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen." It’s doubtful that many people believed it. Do we listen because some have the gift of words? Do we listen because of a person’s title? Do we listen because of the person’s own conviction? All of us sometimes wonder what exactly makes people listen.
Q — Is there a scriptural basis for Catholics’ belief in the pope’s infallibility? A — The Catholic theologian, John Ford, introduces the concept of infallibility in a particularly helpful manner when he says: “Infallibility in its literal sense implies not only the absence of actual error, but also the fundamental inability of erring. Consequently, in the strict sense of the term, infallibility is attributable to God alone. In all other instances, infallibility must be understood as a divine gift that is operative only under restricted conditions” (Joseph Komonchak, Mary Collins and Dermot Lane, ed., The New Dictionary of Theology [Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1987), p. 517). Friday, January 20, 2012
The University of Portland has received $250,000 from Meyer Memorial Trust for renovation of the school's library. Starting in May 2012, the library will be renovated and rebuilt for an estimated $12 million. The library will re-open in August 2013. Thursday, January 26, 2012
