Our Guest Columnists Columns
Our Guest Columnists
“Advanced Placement versus dual credit in Catholic high schools”
BY DIANE STARKOVICH Ph.D, Superintendent of SchoolsEnglish
During the month of July, the U.S. College Board released its AP (Advanced Placement) Score Reports. Our Catholic high school administrators and teachers are busy reviewing these examination results as one measure of academic success.
Previous Columns by Our Guest Columnists
A call to action: Live your authentic self
“Cause what if everyone saw? What if everyone knew? Would they like what they saw? Or would they hate it too?” There wasn’t a dry eye in the Fox Theater as these lyrics were belted to the sold-out crowd of the musical “Dear Evan Hansen” this past April. In short, it tells the story of […] English
By JOEY MARTINECK, Special to the BulletinPublished: August 8, 2019
Lessons for earth 50 years after first moon landing
If you were at least 10 years old on July 20, 1969, you will remember your eyes were glued to a black and white television set watching what no one had ever seen before. You will remember the excitement of seeing animation of a lunar module descending toward a first-ever human moon landing.
By TONY MAGLIANO, CommentaryPublished: July 17, 2019
A call to action: Pray for the deaf ministry
The common thread among almost every deaf Catholic is the perspective of growing up deaf in a hearing church. “We always went to Mass, but I didn’t understand anything,” is a commonly expressed feeling. Approximately 90 percent of adult deaf Catholics do not attend Mass due to lack of access.
By KATHY DAYKIN, Special to the BulletinPublished: June 13, 2019
A call to action: Being a spiritual friend to inmates
In Matthew 25:46, Jesus instructs us that whatever we do to the least of our brothers, we do unto him. For me, this is a guiding principle in prison ministry. In my 32 years as an ordained deacon, God called me to prison ministry in a variety of venues and circumstances. Previously, I worked in […] English
By DEACON RICHARD TOLCHER, Special to the BulletinPublished: May 16, 2019
A call to action: Pray for those struggling with infertility
When Jeanine got married, she had high hopes of being a mother. She and her husband dreamed of being able to hold a newborn of their own. The doctor called it “bad luck” when Jeanine had her first miscarriage. After recovering from the heartache, a second miscarriage followed. Then a third. Why was this happening? […] English
By JOEY MARTINECK, CommentaryPublished: April 25, 2019
A call to action: Open hearts to serving those with disabilities
This is a difficult time of year for me. March is the anniversary month of my son Christopher’s passing and so he is in my every thought. Christopher had a rare genetic disorder. He had multiple, severe disabilities and was medically fragile. His disease caused him to have physical differences that were very noticeable to […] English
By MAGGIE ROUSSEAU, CommentaryPublished: March 22, 2019
A call to action: Social justice as moral imperative
Justice is something we have heard a lot about in recent years. It seems everyone is calling for it in one form or another. We have undoubtedly all asked ourselves—and each other—how justice can have so very many different definitions. Whose justice are we to seek? What is the right thing to do? The body […] English
By JAYNA HOFFACKER, CommentaryPublished: February 25, 2019
A history pop quiz with purpose
I loved to give pop quizzes to my students during my 33 years at St. Pius X High School. One time, to check their understanding of their place in history, I asked them, “Who do you think was president when Father Lopez was born?” They all wrote, “LINCOLN!” In this column, I’d like to give […] English
By MSGR. RICHARD LOPEZ, Special to the BulletinPublished: January 28, 2019
Showing Mercy to Migrants
Through the years I’ve helped initiate sister parish relationships in countries such as Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Haiti. The purpose is to recognize our common humanity, nurture relationships, defend human dignity, work for development and to build up the kingdom of God. In one day’s journey, a person awakens to a different language, culture, sounds […] English
By TOM REICHERT, Special to the BulletinPublished: January 10, 2019
Advent week one: Three traditions to slow you down
Advent, the four-week period preceding Christmas, is a time to slow down as we wait in hopeful expectation for Christ’s coming. It’s a time to take stock of what’s important in our lives, casting away extra commitments and wasted energy we’ve added throughout the year. Here are a few traditions that an individual or a […] English
By SHEMAIAH GONZALEZ, Catholic News ServicePublished: November 26, 2018
How much would you forgive?
The nation was shocked when five Amish children in Pennsylvania were murdered in their classroom in 2006. Our shock turned to amazement when one of the grandparents said, “We must not think evil of (the killer).” Another relative explained, “He had problems of the heart.” Retired Pope Benedict XVI described this kind of mercy as […] English
By MSGR. RICHARD LOPEZ, CommentaryPublished: October 4, 2018
Mission Sunday, Oct. 21: A priest’s reflection
From the beginning the Catholic Church has stressed its missionary mandate. In the l960s the Second Vatican Council debated and underscored and reaffirmed our essential purpose: “The Church on earth is by her very nature missionary.” That emphasis continues in our time. The Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Rome directs the Church’s […] English
By FATHER JOHN KIERAN, Special to the BulletinPublished: October 4, 2018
A psalm for sexual abuse
I scanned the rows of baby food jars on the shelf, grabbed several in a clattering handful, and tossed them into my cart. The store assistant smiled as she rang me up. “How old is your little one?” she asked. I blushed. “It’s for a friend’s child,” I murmured quickly, fishing through my purse for […] English
By GINA CHRISTIAN, Catholic News ServicePublished: September 20, 2018
‘Why don’t they help us if they are Christians?’
I believe it was in the 1996 Olympics that a local bank refused to cash a check from New Mexico, as they did not do so for “foreign countries.” The embarrassing truth is that in the United States we are often uninformed about peoples and geography. This lack of knowledge is particularly obvious when I […] English
By MSGR. RICHARD LOPEZ, CommentaryPublished: September 6, 2018
All sinners are welcome!
While I was in central Georgia, filming the Flannery O’Connor episode of my Pivotal Players series, I saw a sign on the outside of a church, which would have delighted the famously prickly Catholic author: “All Sinners Are Welcome!” I thought it was a wonderfully Christian spin on the etiquette of welcome that is so […] English
By BISHOP ROBERT BARRON, CommentaryPublished: August 3, 2018
The case for gratitude
The amazing cave rescue of the Thai boys and their soccer coach left me in awe of the many brave people involved in the undaunted efforts made to save those young lives. Expert rescue divers risked their lives; sadly, one gave his own. People came from near and far to the cave site to pray, […] English
By CHUCK AUST, CommentaryPublished: August 3, 2018
The question behind the question
On the afternoon of June 14, a rather spirited, fascinating and unexpected debate broke out on the floor of the USCCB spring meeting in Ft. Lauderdale. At issue was the possibility of reconsidering “Faithful Citizenship,” the 2007 statement of the U.S. bishops on the formation of conscience regarding matters political. A group of bishops, including […] English
By BISHOP ROBERT BARRON, CommentaryPublished: July 5, 2018
A conversation about ‘Humanae Vitae’ may finally be possible
NEW YORK (CNS)—Can one imagine a more difficult year for “Humanae Vitae” (“Of Human Life”) to be heard than 1968? Blessed Paul VI’s encyclical came out just as the sexual revolution was picking up steam, well on its way to becoming a dominant force in Western culture. Contraception was part of a basic right to […] English
By CHARLIE CAMOSY, Catholic News ServicePublished: April 23, 2018
St. Clare and feminism
We might not think that a 13th-century woman could speak to the modern world, but St. Clare of Assisi challenges us. She was a feminist before feminism existed. Clare spent much of her life fighting patriarchy and power to live the Franciscan way. Clare was born in 1194, Clare Offreduccio di Favarone, into a noble […] English
By CAROLYN M. Jones Medine, Catholic News ServicePublished: March 23, 2018