OSV Newsweekly
St. Louis: One of OSV’s Top 10 U.S. Catholic Cities
Known as “the Rome of the West” because of its rich Catholic history, St. Louis was pivotal in spreading Catholicism into the western half of the United States. Its “Old Cathedral,” the Basilica of St. Louis, King, was founded in 1770 and is the first Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi River.
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Bethlehem, Conn.: One of OSV’s Top 10 U.S. Catholic Cities
Settled 100 miles northeast of New York City, the town of Bethlehem, Conn., might seem like a strange pick for a top U.S. Catholic city. But the presence of the Abbey of Regina Laudis lends Bethlehem and the surrounding area an undeniable aura of Catholic culture. Founded in 1947, the abbey houses a community of contemplative Benedictine women who are, according to its website, “dedicated to the praise of God through prayer and work.” The nuns and other volunteers work the 450 acres of land, yielding an array of products ranging from pottery and candles to honey, vinegar and perfume.
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On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis prayed for Jesus to change ‘hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace’ — especially in ‘dear Syria, for its people torn by conflict and for the many refugees who await help and comfort.’
The appeal for peace echoed those of his predecessors — both Pope Benedict XVI’s many poignant pleas for peace in Syria and Blessed John Paul II’s words during his visit to that country in May 2001. His pilgrimage, he said, was ‘an ardent prayer of hope … that among the peoples of the region fear will turn to trust and contempt to mutual esteem, that force will give way to dialogue and that a genuine desire to serve the common good will prevail.’ Amen.
Conservative, pro-life groups feel chilling effect of audits
Many of them had tax-exempt statuses approved, but only after intense scrutiny and legal assistance
By Brian Fraga
The IRS and the Obama administration deny allegations that churches and conservative, pro-life organizations and individuals were targeted for political reasons, but several people and groups have come forward in recent weeks to say the IRS seemed to pay a lot of unusual attention to their activities.
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Clean, colorful comedy
By Jennifer Rey
“Clean comedy is easy. Funny comedy is hard.” (From comedian Tim Hawkins’ bio)
It must be true, as the majority of modern comedy seems to stem from vulgarity and shock value rather than actual humor. (Whatever happened to the comedic styles of Cary Grant and Lucille Ball?) Comedian Tim Hawkins, however, opts for the clean approach. With more than 200,000 Facebook fans, 100 million YouTube views and 120 sold out shows each year, he is building quite a following.
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Emmitsburg, Md.: One of OSV’s Top 10 U.S. Catholic Cities
Located at the base of the Catoctin Mountains in Maryland, the town of Emmitsburg could be considered the seat of American Catholicism. It was in Emmitsburg where St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born American saint, and her three daughters arrived in 1809 from Baltimore. It was there where Mother Seton established the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, the first congregation of religious sisters to be founded in the United States that turned into the basis for several more religious orders. And it’s there where she is buried at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
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New Orleans: One of OSV’s Top 10 U.S. Catholic Cities
From its earliest moments, when Robert Cavelier de la Salle arrived in the Mississippi Valley and claimed the land for God (and King Louis XIV), the area that would become the city of New Orleans had a Catholic heart. With its “parishes,” saint-named streets, more than 40 Catholic churches and rich Catholic culture, New Orleans is a quintessential U.S. Catholic city.
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Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. — Psalm 40:5
Mass Readings: Sirach 5:1-8/Mark 9:41-50
Pride and Presumption
In the first reading Sirach addresses two human tendencies, both erroneous, both inviting God’s wrath. The first is pride in ourselves — in our own wealth, power or strength. In our ever-growing sense of self-sufficiency, we fail to recognize or acknowledge our need of God and refuse to live as creatures dependent on their Creator. Sirach refers to “deceitful wealth” — by trusting in our own resources, material or otherwise, we deceive ourselves.
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Picking the Top 10 Cities — a behind-the-scenes look
By Gretchen R. Crowe
Summer is almost here, and along with it are OSV Newsweekly’s picks for the Top 10 Catholic cities in the United States. The staff had a great time putting together this summer feature, and we hope the small snapshots of each locale prove both edifying and entertaining.
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