Former parish business manager sentenced to three years in prison
By John Stegeman The Catholic Telegraph Thomas Shaun Martin, former business manager for several parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, was convicted of embezzling money and sentenced on March 19 to three years in prison and five years probation. He was also fined $10,000. A civil suit by the archdiocese …
Crowd in support of traditional marriage marches to U.S. Supreme Court [Video]

By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — Thousands of people who gathered at one end of the National Mall March 26 in support of traditional marriage took their message to the U.S. Supreme Court as they walked and held aloft placards with signs saying: “Kids do best with …
Catholic bishops warn Filipinos against ritual crucifixion
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Authorities announced that at least 24 “penitents” are expected to be nailed on the cross on Good Friday, an annual ritual meant to atone for sins and give thanks to God for blessings. But the country’s Catholic bishops warned the faithful against resorting to extreme forms …
Court may hold off California marriage law ruling, justices suggest

By Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The legal question of the constitutionality of California’s law banning same-sex marriage may take a back seat to consideration of whether the time is “ripe” for a national-level ruling, suggested the Supreme Court justices’ questioning in the first of two major …
Editor’s Note: Everyone wants to be the first with the news
March and April used to bring a flood of phone calls to the office of an editor in the upper Midwest, where I spent much of my career. I used to call it the great battle of the bobbin’ robin. We would get literally scores of calls from people wanting …
Question of Faith: Will new Jesuit pope make the church more liberal?
Question of Faith is a Q&A column by Father Earl Fernandes A reader asks: Dear Father: “Will the new Pope make changes in Church teaching because he’s a Jesuit and Jesuits tend to be more liberal? Will I have to take three steps to the left?” Dear reader: Catholics should give …
On ‘The Mighty Casey,’ and the renewal of a new papacy
“The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day: The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.” Just about any baseball fan or English major is familiar with those famous lines from the Ernest Lawrence Thayer poem Casey at the Bat. The poem resonated …
What keeps me Catholic: Scandals can be of a profoundly theologial nature
It’s a word the Catholic Church has long avoided being associated with — scandal. Far from it to be a cause of disillusionment or a stumbling block against faith. In the past, the very mention of scandal being a possibility was, depending on the activity, enough to get someone to …
Lay Perspective: There’s something happening here, daily change in Year of Faith
“There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear.” Now that you may have the Buffalo Springfield song in your head, in a world where we see so much change daily, there’s something happening. This is the Year of Faith, of a New Evangelization, a new Holy Father. One …
The Catholic Moment: Pope Francis emerges as enigmatic figure
As the first days of Pope Francis’ term of office dawned, there was a great deal of excitement about who this stranger from a far land was, what is going to be his main focus, what new initiatives will he bring to the life of the church? The research started …