News - September 2018 RSS Feed

After serving at the chapel at Tinker Air Force Base for more than 39 years, Father Patrick McCool, O.S.B., retired June 3. The assignment, which started as “helping on weekends,” turned into a full ministry to help soldiers and their families.

Stan Melby was happy and content in his previous job and never envisioned leaving for a new position. He soon realized God had a different plan. The former principal in Lawton Public Schools said he was called to be the new principal of Saint Mary Catholic School.

His uncle mentioned the Tekakwitha Conference a few years ago as something to “check out,” but Robert Barbry II never thought it would be his “next step” in ministry. Now, three years later, Barbry is the new executive director of the Tekakwitha Conference.

The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City established the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Spiritual Center of Oklahoma in 2017. The director is Deacon Roy Callison, coordinator for American Indian Catholic Outreach for the archdiocese.

Jennifer Sharpe’s faith journey has been nothing short of remarkable, including the publication of three illustrated books meant to teach young children the symbols and significance of their Catholic faith.

In my work at Catholic Extension, I’ve seen many examples of how the Church in the U.S. missions is a bellwether for the wider U.S. Church, very often in quietly hopeful ways.

Hilaire Belloc’s 1936 classic has just been reprinted (2017) by Ignatius Press. In “Characters of the Reformation,” Belloc presents short sketches of 23 of the main characters of the Protestant Reformation in England. These were the men and women who had much to do with what Belloc calls the “transformation of England from a Catholic to a Protestant country.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- In recent years, Catholic Charities school counselors have noticed an unsettling trend of more anxiety and less empathy among their young students. A variety of factors, including increased screen time and social media usage, more homework and extracurricular activities, along with less recess and unstructured free time, is leaving children "missing out on connection-with each other and with their communities," according to Catholic Charities counselor Melissa Smith.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (CNS) -- Ron Clements is a renowned animator, screenwriter and producer-director of award-winning Disney films, including the 2017 blockbuster "Moana." But at heart, he will always be a Midwesterner and grateful for his Catholic education, he told students at his alma mater.