by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 18, 2008) Yale University is embroiled in a controversy over an art major who planned to display a video documenting a nine-month process of artificially inseminating herself “as often as possible” then taking abortifacient drugs to abort the child. University officials are calling the whole thing a ruse, but the student is sticking to her story.
by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 18, 2008) In an address to more than 200 Catholic educators, Pope Benedict XVI said authentic Catholic education should lead to an encounter with Jesus and any failure to do so leads Catholic institutions to fall short of their Catholic identity.
by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 18, 2008) Pope Benedict told diplomats at the United Nations that respect for human rights was the key to solving many of the world’s problems. Because human rights are inherent to human persons and are not the fruit of an “agreement,” they should not be manipulated by ideological and pressure groups.
by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 18, 2008) Between several high-profile events during his third day in the U.S., the Pope surprised the world by attending a private meeting with victims of clergy sex abuse. The session is believed to have been the first ever between a Pope and victims of the scandal.
by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 17, 2008) The Pope’s comments to U.S. bishops regarding the sex abuse crisis received most of the headlines but this was only one of several challenges Pope Benedict XVI posed to them during an address at the National Basilica on April 16.
by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 17, 2008) During a Mass attended by 50,000 people in Nationals Stadium, Pope Benedict XVI said the Church and society in America is at a crossroad. He encouraged Catholics to use this moment to seek conversion and the power of the Holy Spirit, particularly through the Sacrament of Penance, to bring the witness of Christ to a society in crisis.
by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 16, 2008) Speaking beneath a brilliant blue sky on the South Lawn of the White House, Pope Benedict XVI expressed the hope that his visit to the U.S. would usher in “a renewal of hope for the Church in the United States and strengthen the will of Catholics to contribute even more responsibly to the life of this nation . . .”
by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 16, 2008) A new report by several policy and research groups has found that the high rate of divorce and unwed childbearing costs the American taxpayer at least $112 billion a year and has amounted to more than $1 trillion in the last decade alone.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 15, 2008) A man who was accidentally impaled by a tree on a Missouri farm considers it a miracle to be attending the Papal Mass at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. The Yankees are worried about the crowd stepping on the grass at Yankee Stadium and a group of Catholic school children hope their German will sound alright when they sing Happy Birthday to the Pope on April 16.
by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 15, 2008) Pope Benedict XVI began his first visit to the United States today when “Shepherd One” landed precisely at 4:00 p.m. at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC. Smiling and waving to the crowd, the Holy Father strode briskly along the red-carpeted tarmac with the President, Laura and Jenna Bush at his side.
