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He was fast of fist and foot (AP) -- lip, too - a heavyweight champion who promised to shock the world and did. He floated. He stung. Mostly he thrilled, even after the punches had taken their toll and his voice barely rose above a whisper....
COURTLAND, Ala. (AP) -- Lisa Davis, a cashier at a Foodvalu grocery store in rural north Alabama, spent Friday ringing up bottled water sales after a local utility declared its tap water unfit to drink because of chemical contamination....
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St. Louis, Mo., Jun 3, 2016 / 02:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Mother Angelica, the nun who founded EWTN, has been posthumously honored for her lifetime achievement in Catholic communications. One of her close collaborators said she wanted Catholic media to rely totally on God.The Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals on June 2 awarded Mother Angelica its President’s Medallion during the Gabriel Awards gala at the Catholic Media Conference in St. Louis, Mo.Michael P. Warsaw, EWTN Global Catholic Network chairman and CEO, accepted the award. He said Mother Angelica had spoken with him about her expected legacy.“She said her legacy, and the legacy of the network, would not be what had been done, but how it had been done – by relying totally and completely on the providence of God,” Warsaw said.“So I would encourage everyone, particularly those in Catholic media, to follow Mother’s example of relying upon God’s providence in your own lives ...
St. Louis, Mo., Jun 3, 2016 / 02:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Mother Angelica, the nun who founded EWTN, has been posthumously honored for her lifetime achievement in Catholic communications. One of her close collaborators said she wanted Catholic media to rely totally on God.
The Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals on June 2 awarded Mother Angelica its President’s Medallion during the Gabriel Awards gala at the Catholic Media Conference in St. Louis, Mo.
Michael P. Warsaw, EWTN Global Catholic Network chairman and CEO, accepted the award. He said Mother Angelica had spoken with him about her expected legacy.
“She said her legacy, and the legacy of the network, would not be what had been done, but how it had been done – by relying totally and completely on the providence of God,” Warsaw said.
“So I would encourage everyone, particularly those in Catholic media, to follow Mother’s example of relying upon God’s providence in your own lives as you work to spread the Gospel.”
Mother Angelica, a Poor Clare nun, passed away on Easter Sunday, 2016 at the age of 92. She had founded EWTN in Irondale, Ala. on Aug. 15, 1981. The network, now in its 35th year, is the largest religious media network in the world. It provides Catholic media through television, radio, the internet, print services like the National Catholic Register and wire services like Catholic News Agency.
The Catholic Academy of Communications Professionals serves broadcasters, communications directors, public relations personnel, and other professionals who use media to serve the Church. The academy previously recognized Mother Angelica in 1984 when it gave her its Personal Achievement Award for founding EWTN.
Vatican City, Jun 3, 2016 / 03:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis emphasized that priests must be joyful, stubborn shepherds who take risks and seek out even those who are most distant from God, in imitation of the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ.“A shepherd after the heart of God has a heart sufficiently free to set aside his own concerns. He does not live by calculating his gains or how long he has worked: he is not an accountant of the Spirit, but a Good Samaritan who seeks out those in need,” the Pope said in a June 3 homily.“For the flock he is a shepherd, not an inspector, and he devotes himself to the mission not fifty or sixty percent, but with all he has.”“In seeking, he finds, and he finds because he takes risks. He does not stop when disappointed and he does not yield to weariness. Indeed, he is stubborn in doing good, anointed with the divine obstinacy that loses sight of no one,” the Pope continued. “Not only does he keep his doors...
Vatican City, Jun 3, 2016 / 03:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis emphasized that priests must be joyful, stubborn shepherds who take risks and seek out even those who are most distant from God, in imitation of the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ.
“A shepherd after the heart of God has a heart sufficiently free to set aside his own concerns. He does not live by calculating his gains or how long he has worked: he is not an accountant of the Spirit, but a Good Samaritan who seeks out those in need,” the Pope said in a June 3 homily.
“For the flock he is a shepherd, not an inspector, and he devotes himself to the mission not fifty or sixty percent, but with all he has.”
“In seeking, he finds, and he finds because he takes risks. He does not stop when disappointed and he does not yield to weariness. Indeed, he is stubborn in doing good, anointed with the divine obstinacy that loses sight of no one,” the Pope continued. “Not only does he keep his doors open, but he also goes to seek out those who no longer wish to enter them.”
Pope Francis’ homily was part of a Mass celebrated in St. Peter’s Square at the conclusion of a three-day Jubilee of Mercy. Several thousand priests and seminarians took part in the jubilee, which offered them chances for prayer and reflection, Eucharistic Adoration, confession and pilgrimages to designated jubilee churches in Rome.
The Friday Mass fell on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which prompted the Pope to reflect on the heart of priests and the heart of Jesus Christ.
In the Heart of the Good Shepherd, he said, “the Father’s love shines forth.”
“There I know I am welcomed and understood as I am; there, with all my sins and limitations, I know the certainty that I am chosen and loved.”
In contemplating the heart of Jesus, he said, “I renew my first love: the memory of that time when the Lord touched my soul and called me to follow him, the memory of the joy of having cast the nets of our life upon the sea of his word.”
“The Heart of the Good Shepherd tells us that his love is limitless. It is never exhausted and it never gives up. There we see his infinite and boundless self-giving. There we find the source of that faithful and meek love which sets free and makes others free,” Pope Francis added.
This heart also reaches out to those who are most distant.
For the pontiff, the fundamental question of priestly life is “Where is my heart directed?” He noted the plans, projects and activities of a priest’s life, including catechesis, liturgy, works of charity, and pastoral and administrative commitments.
He said that Jesus’ heart had two great riches: God the Father and his people. This should this be the focus of priests’ hearts.
“The heart of the priest is a heart pierced by the love of the Lord,” the Pope declared. “For this reason, he no longer looks to himself, but is turned towards God and his brothers and sisters. It is no longer ‘a fluttering heart,’ allured by momentary whims, shunning disagreements and seeking petty satisfactions. Rather, it is a heart rooted firmly in the Lord, warmed by the Holy Spirit, open and available to our brothers and sisters.”
He encouraged priests to seek out people, to include them, and to rejoice.
God seeks out his sheep without fear of risks, and does not put off the search until he has found the lost sheep. A good shepherd’s heart is not jealous of its legitimate time alone and never demands that it be left alone. A good shepherd is not worried about protecting his comfort zone or his name, but takes risks in trying to imitate his Lord, the Pope explained.
“Christ loves and knows his sheep. He gives his life for them, and no one is a stranger to him,” the Pope said. “His flock is his family and his life. He is not a boss to be feared by his flock, but a shepherd who walks alongside them and calls them by name.”
This is also true for the priest, who is anointed to be close to the men and women God has entrusted him with.
“No one is excluded from his heart, his prayers or his smile,” the Pope said of the ideal Catholic priest. “With a father’s loving gaze and heart, he welcomes and includes everyone, and if at times he has to correct, it is to draw people closer. He stands apart from no one, but is always ready to dirty his hands.”
The priest does not wait for complements but reaches out to others and rejects gossip, judgments and malice. He generously sows God’s forgiveness.
“He does not scold those who wander off or lose their way, but is always ready to bring them back and to resolve difficulties and disagreements,” the Pope said.
Pope Francis also reflected on the joy of God.
“His joy is born of forgiveness, of life risen and renewed, of prodigal children who breathe once more the sweet air of home. The joy of Jesus the Good Shepherd is not a joy for himself alone, but a joy for others and with others, the true joy of love. This is also the joy of the priest.”
The priest is changed by the mercy he freely gives. In prayer he discovers God’s consolation and powerful love, experiences inner peace, and becomes a channel of mercy to bring men and women closer to the heart of God.
In celebrating the Eucharist each day, priests rediscover their identity as shepherds. He asked that priests may make Jesus Christ’s words their own: “This is my body, which is given up for you.”
Pope Francis thanked the priests for giving their life in union with Jesus. In this, he said, is found “the pure source of our joy.”
Atlanta, Ga., Jun 3, 2016 / 04:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The head of the Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has resigned after a scare with her daughters involving men entering a women’s restroom.Maya Dillard Smith had been interim director of the chapter since 2015. She said she resigned because of the hostile reaction to her questions about the advocacy group’s participation in litigation on the use of opposite-sex public restrooms by people who identify as transgender.“There are real concerns about the safety of women and girls in regards to this bathroom debate,” she said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It seems to me that instead of stifling the dialogue, we want to encourage a robust debate to come up with an effective solution.”She said she had misgivings about the issue since the time her young daughters encountered three deep-voiced transgendered young adults over six feet tall in an Oakland, Calif. restr...
Atlanta, Ga., Jun 3, 2016 / 04:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The head of the Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has resigned after a scare with her daughters involving men entering a women’s restroom.
Maya Dillard Smith had been interim director of the chapter since 2015. She said she resigned because of the hostile reaction to her questions about the advocacy group’s participation in litigation on the use of opposite-sex public restrooms by people who identify as transgender.
“There are real concerns about the safety of women and girls in regards to this bathroom debate,” she said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It seems to me that instead of stifling the dialogue, we want to encourage a robust debate to come up with an effective solution.”
She said she had misgivings about the issue since the time her young daughters encountered three deep-voiced transgendered young adults over six feet tall in an Oakland, Calif. restroom.
“My kids were visibly frightened. I was scared. And I was ill-prepared to answer their questions,” she said in a statement published by the Atlanta Progressive News website.
Smith said that transgender rights have implications for women’s rights. She said that accommodations for transgendered people must “balance the need to ensure women and girls are safe from those who might have malicious intent.”
While she previously thought the ACLU aimed to balance competing rights and be mindful of unintended consequences, she now thinks she is no longer philosophically aligned with the organization.
Smith – who is African American – accused the legal group of promoting only “certain progressive rights.”
“In that way, it is a special interest organization not unlike the conservative right, which creates a hierarchy of rights based on who is funding the organization’s lobbying activities,” she said.
Smith has launched a website, Finding Middle Ground, that aims to voice her concerns in the current debate.
An ACLU spokeswoman gave Reuters a memo stating that the ACLU’s position is that “transgender people can use facilities and participate in activities that match who they are.”
The group’s North Carolina affiliate is challenging a state bill that officially establishes single-sex restrooms in the state’s schools and public buildings. It requires people to use the bathroom on the basis of the sex on their birth certificate.
The Obama administration recently sent a letter to all public school districts indicating that they should allow students who identify as transgender to use the bathroom that matches this self-perceived gender identity. Georgia is one of 11 states challenging the directive.
The American Civil Liberties Union is involved in civil rights work on racial issues and the misuse of police force, but it is also a staunch defender of legal abortion and LGBT causes. It is a critic of Catholic ethical standards against abortion in Catholic hospitals. It has also argued that religious freedom protections are discriminatory.
IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz MuthBy Julie AsherST. LOUIS (CNS) -- Maria de Lourdes Ruiz Scaperlanda, a writer and author in the Catholic press since 1982, received the 2016 St. Francis de Sales Award from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.The award, which is the highest honor given by CPA, was presented at a luncheon at the Catholic Media Conference June 3 in St. Louis.With emotion in her voice, Scaperlanda said the honor "was most unexpected.""I have known so many of you for so many years. So many of you have made it possible for me to be a writer in the Catholic press," she said, adding with a laugh, "You continue to support people like me who write at home in our pajamas.""I've been thinking this week about how God is a God of details and how coming to this country as a teenager at the age 13 not even speaking English," she said. Born in Cuba, she later immigrated to the U.S.Scaperlanda described meeting some refugee families during her visit to Jordan last...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth
By Julie Asher
ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- Maria de Lourdes Ruiz Scaperlanda, a writer and author in the Catholic press since 1982, received the 2016 St. Francis de Sales Award from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.
The award, which is the highest honor given by CPA, was presented at a luncheon at the Catholic Media Conference June 3 in St. Louis.
With emotion in her voice, Scaperlanda said the honor "was most unexpected."
"I have known so many of you for so many years. So many of you have made it possible for me to be a writer in the Catholic press," she said, adding with a laugh, "You continue to support people like me who write at home in our pajamas."
"I've been thinking this week about how God is a God of details and how coming to this country as a teenager at the age 13 not even speaking English," she said. Born in Cuba, she later immigrated to the U.S.
Scaperlanda described meeting some refugee families during her visit to Jordan last year.
"I have looked in their eyes and said, 'I'm a refugee too," said Scaperlanda. While she and the Middle Eastern refugees come from such different places, "we have a bond. We are united in our heart."
"Only God can make those things come together," She said. "I thank you all for this great surprise and thank you for supporting all those stories over the years.
"You are the proclaimers of the Gospel," she told the luncheon crowd.
Scaperlanda also expressed her admiration for the two other nominees for this year's St. Francis de Sales Award:
-- Penny Wiegert, editor of The Observer, newspaper of the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois.
-- Joe Sinasac, publishing director for Novalis Publishing in Canada, which produces books, resources and periodicals to help readers develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the Christian faith, especially Catholicism.
Scaperlanda is a freelance writer known for her work in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City for more than 30 years. She wrote a well-received biography of Father Stanley Rother, a candidate for sainthood. Her award nomination, quoted in The Catholic Journalist, said the book "will be the quintessential reference for his life and service." She was nominated for the honor by the staff of the Sooner Catholic, Oklahoma City's archdiocesan newspaper.
Besides the Rother book, she has written five others including, "The Seeker's Guide to Mary." She also is a contributor to CatholicMom.com.
Scaperlanda's work has appeared in various regional and national publications, such as the Sooner Catholic; St. Anthony Messenger and Our Sunday Visitor, both Catholic publications; and The New York Times. She blogs at "Day by Day with Maria." She took the name for the blog from the song "Day by Day" from the musical "Godspell," one of the first songs she learned at St. Aloysius Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after immigrating.
She has covered international assignments throughout Europe and in Israel, Turkey, Europe, Central America and the Caribbean, including St. John Paul II's visit to Cuba.
Scaperlanda is married to Michael A. Scaperlanda, the new president of St. Gregory's University in Shawnee, Oklahoma. They have four grown children.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City was pleased by the announcement of the award. He said he met Scaperlanda after he became archbishop in 2011 and soon they began working on a book about the life of Father Rother, a native of Oklahoma.
The priest was brutally murdered in 1981 in Guatemala, where he was a missionary in rural villages. His cause for sainthood was officially opened in October 2007; he has been given the title of "servant of God."
"I think we're all very proud of the work that she produced. And very hopeful it will accomplish what both of us hoped it might and make this great servant of God known to a wider number Catholics," the archbishop told Catholic News Service June 3.
He said the award recognizes Scaperlanda's long career as a Catholic writer and editor.
"I'm very proud of this recognition not only for Maria, but it's a tribute to her work in producing this very fine book and also in my estimation for her body of work," Archbishop Coakley said.
"She's a bright star for us here."
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Contributing to this story were Colleen Dulle and Dennis Sadowski in Washington.
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CHICAGO (AP) -- A federal judge in Chicago ruled Friday that the world champion U.S. women's soccer team does not have the right to strike to seek improved conditions and wages before the Summer Olympics, seeming to end the prospect of an unprecedented disruption by one of the most successful American national teams....
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