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MONROE, Wash. (AP) -- Eight years ago, when Noel Caldellis began serving time for killing a university student, his main objective was to make 20-plus years in prison pass as quickly as possible: work out, walk circles in the yard with inmates and watch TV....
JERUSALEM (AP) -- A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli officials denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the world's second-largest Jewish community from Israel....
TOKYO (AP) -- With tensions high and the United States and South Korea ready to hold their massive annual war games next week, which North Korea sees as a dress rehearsal for invasion, Pyongyang is warning it will respond to any violations of its territory with "merciless" retaliation, including strikes on Seoul and the U.S. mainland....
IDOMENI, Greece (AP) -- More than 7,000 refugees and other migrants are camped on Greece's northern border with Macedonia, waiting for authorities to allow them to continue their long trek north to seek asylum in wealthier European countries....
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Can the FBI force a company like Apple to extract data from a customer's smartphone? In the fight over an iPhone used by an extremist killer in San Bernardino, some legal experts say Congress has never explicitly granted that power. And now a federal judge agrees in a similar case....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Long before Hillary Clinton, superdelegates have been there for the establishment....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are eyeing an opportunity to pull away from their rivals on Super Tuesday, a delegate-rich dash across the country that could accelerate their march toward the general election....
WASHINGTON-Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York called on everyone "concerned about the tragedy of abortion" to recommit to a "vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one" on January 14. His statement marks the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Cardinal Dolan chairs the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops."Most Americans oppose a policy allowing legal abortion for virtually any reason - though many still do not realize that this is what the Supreme Court gave us," wrote Cardinal Dolan. "Most want to protect unborn children at later stages of pregnancy, to regulate or limit the practice of abortion, and to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for the destruction of unborn children. Yet many who support important goals of the pro-life movement do not identify as 'pro-life,' a fact which should lead us to examine how we present our pro-life vision to others.""Even as Americans rema...
WASHINGTON-Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York called on everyone "concerned about the tragedy of abortion" to recommit to a "vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one" on January 14. His statement marks the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Cardinal Dolan chairs the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"Most Americans oppose a policy allowing legal abortion for virtually any reason - though many still do not realize that this is what the Supreme Court gave us," wrote Cardinal Dolan. "Most want to protect unborn children at later stages of pregnancy, to regulate or limit the practice of abortion, and to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for the destruction of unborn children. Yet many who support important goals of the pro-life movement do not identify as 'pro-life,' a fact which should lead us to examine how we present our pro-life vision to others."
"Even as Americans remain troubled by abortion," wrote Cardinal Dolan, a powerful and well-funded lobby holds "that abortion must be celebrated as a positive good for women and society, and those who cannot in conscience provide it are to be condemned for practicing substandard medicine and waging a 'war on women'." He said this trend was seen recently when President Obama and other Democratic leaders prevented passage of the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, "a modest measure to provide for effective enforcement" of conscience laws.
"While this is disturbing," said Cardinal Dolan, "it is also an opportunity." Pro-life Americans should reach out to "the great majority of Americans" who are "open to hearing a message of reverence for life." He added that "we who present the pro-life message must always strive to be better messengers. A cause that teaches the inexpressibly great value of each and every human being cannot show disdain or disrespect for any fellow human being." He encouraged Catholics to take part, through prayer and action, in the upcoming "9 Days for Life" campaign, January 16-24. More information on the campaign is available online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxJwfcefUiU
He also cited the Year of Mercy called by Pope Francis as a time for women and men to find healing through the Church's Project Rachel post-abortion ministry.
The full text of Cardinal Dolan's message is available online.
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Keywords: Roe v. Wade, anniversary, Pro-Life, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, 9 Days for Life, USCCB, U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Year of Mercy, Project Rachel, Pope Francis
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Don Clemmer
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WASHINGTON-The Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, February 1, on behalf of USCCB, the Texas Catholic Conference and several Christian partners in support of a Texas law mandating health and safety standards protecting women who undergo abortions. Other groups joining the brief include the National Association of Evangelicals, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The case is Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, currently before the U.S. Supreme Court."There is ample evidence in this case that hospital admitting privileges and ambulatory surgical center requirements protect women's lives and health," said the brief. "When such requirements are not enforced, abuses detrimental to women's lives and health arise."The brief noted that some abortion clinics have decla...
"There is ample evidence in this case that hospital admitting privileges and ambulatory surgical center requirements protect women's lives and health," said the brief. "When such requirements are not enforced, abuses detrimental to women's lives and health arise."
The brief noted that some abortion clinics have declared the standards too strict, although the standards are similar to those issued by the abortion industry. It added that abortion providers "should not be allowed to rely upon their own failure to comply with health and safety laws" as a reason to strike such laws down. The brief said the providers' resistance to such regulations is not in the best interests of women's health and safety. It also noted that over 40 years of precedent, including the Court's 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, reaffirms that states may regulate abortion to protect maternal life and health.
Full text of the brief is available online: www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/amicus-briefs/upload/Whole-Woman-s-Health-v-Hellerstedt.pdf
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Keywords: General Counsel, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Texas law abortion, amicus curia, National Association of Evangelicals, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, U.S. Supreme Court
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IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz MuthBy Carol ZimmermannBALTIMORE(CNS) -- For Father Leo Patalinghug,faith and food go hand in hand, or in cooking terms, they blend; there is notrick to folding one into the other."The idea of food in faith isimplicit in our Scriptures.It's implicit in our liturgical calendar," hesaid, also adding that without question it's a key component of the Mass.The 45-year-oldFilipino-American, known as the cooking priest, has made the blending of thosetwo worlds his life's work with his apostolate, "Grace Before Meals,"which aims, as he puts it: "to bring families to the dinner table andbring God to the table."He not only does a cooking showon the Eternal Word Television Network called "Savoring our Faith," but he also travels across thecountry giving parish workshops and speaks at conferences, on radio programs andvia social media about the need for families to celebrate not just Catholic feastdays but everyday meals together. He also has written three books and iscur...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth
By Carol Zimmermann
BALTIMORE (CNS) -- For Father Leo Patalinghug, faith and food go hand in hand, or in cooking terms, they blend; there is no trick to folding one into the other.
"The idea of food in faith is implicit in our Scriptures.It's implicit in our liturgical calendar," he said, also adding that without question it's a key component of the Mass.
The 45-year-old Filipino-American, known as the cooking priest, has made the blending of those two worlds his life's work with his apostolate, "Grace Before Meals," which aims, as he puts it: "to bring families to the dinner table and bring God to the table."
He not only does a cooking show on the Eternal Word Television Network called "Savoring our Faith," but he also travels across the country giving parish workshops and speaks at conferences, on radio programs and via social media about the need for families to celebrate not just Catholic feast days but everyday meals together. He also has written three books and is currently working on two more.
Without irony, he says there is a hunger for this ministry, noting that the parish workshops he gives are typically booked, filled with parishioners of all ages interested in how food and faith meet and on connecting or reconnecting with each other and God.
When Catholic News Service met Father Patalinghug at his Baltimore home Feb. 24, he had just returned from a series of parish missions in California and Chicago and was about to leave the next day for the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. Oh, and he also was having about 30 family members over that night for dinner, so he needed to get meat in the oven and a pasta dish started.
But noting that a busy schedule is pretty much how he rolls, he demonstrated that with some advance planning he could also easily whip up a Lenten meal of brown butter smoked paprika sauteed with cherry tomatoes and shrimp over pasta.
"If a family thinks ahead about what they're going to do in Lent -- as opposed to making it seem like a drudgery" that they have to think of something meatless to eat, he said, they can easily prepare a similar dish and not have to rely on cheese pizza or frozen fish sticks.
Case in point: His simple meatless meal seemed easy to make, looked good when plated, as he put it, and was also really tasty.
That's part of his ministry, helping people see they can and should eat well and eat together.
The priest has tapped into a current food fascination, popularized by Food Network, the very spot where he gained some notoriety seven years ago when he beat celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a steak fajita cook-off on "Throwdown! With Bobby Flay."
At that time, the Baltimore priest, who is part of a community of consecrated life called Voluntas Dei, was already doing a cooking show and had written the "Grace Before Meals Cookbook," but cooking had been part of his DNA long before that.
Over the years, he has occasionally taken cooking classes and when he was in the seminary at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, he ended up picking up tips from chefs at local restaurants.
But what really got his cooking juices going was from being the youngest of four children and growing up in what he jokingly calls "Hotel Patalinghug" because of his family's hospitality so typical of the Filipino culture. He said he helped or watched his mother cook and they never ate dinner until his father, a doctor, came home from work, usually around 7:30 p.m.
These days, with family get-togethers, he is not always the main cook, because his mom is such a good cook and his family members often bring something.
The go-to meal for the priest who is frequently on-the-run is cooked vegetables and rice and maybe some steak "because who doesn't like a little meat?"
His kitchen, set up for cooking demonstrations, is uncluttered. The counters are bare and cookbooks are stacked high above cabinets, with the appearance that they are not often needed. On a chopping block is a small wooden statue of St. Pasqual, the Franciscan monk who worked in a monastery kitchen and is considered the patron saint of cooks and kitchens.
Father Patalinghug admits his work is not a traditional ministry, but he said it is meeting people where they are just as Jesus sent his disciples out and told them to "eat what is set before you."
He gives the example of St. Paul, "who followed such a strict diet, but when he went to evangelize the nations, he had to, for the first time, eat bacon, and he loved it I'm sure."
He can't seem to help throwing in cooking terms when talking about his work, noting that Christians are all called to be leaven in society and that his ultimate goal is to bring people back to the Lord's table.
He also said his ministry provides bait: "Once people nibble on the truth, once they've tasted and seen the goodness of God, they hunger for more."
And he sees the fruit, so to speak, with the response including an email from a woman who told him that after watching his show, she went to church the next day, went to confession and received the Eucharist for the first time in 30 years.
"And I thought, I was just cutting onions, you know? It's kind of crazy," he added, "but I was doing it in the name of the Lord."
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Follow Zimmermann on Twitter: @carolmaczim.
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