Blatant racism in the immigration discussion

The immigration debate is a hot topic, one that sometimes causes people to make rash statements.

Still, I have to admit I was a bit shocked to read this story about an immigration discussion at a Broomfield Catholic high cchool turning into a heated forum where at least one student chanted the term "white power."

I think we can all agreet that racism is not a Christian value.

Good news

Each February is Catholic Press Month, and the Catholic Press Association (our umbrella organization) offers its member publications a poster that can be ordered and displayed at parishes across North America.

This year, we threw our hat into the ring and Dave Kottler, the exceptionally talented graphic designer who works with us each issue, came up with a great idea involving newspapers, books and ... pancakes. The CPA loved it and awarded us the winner of the contest.

We have to reshoot one of the elements and then we'll post the finished product on the blog. In the meantime, congratulations to Dave on a witty, colorful design.

Christian vs. New Age

The "Christian vs. New Age" series that we are in the middle of running has drawn quite a response... the most since we ran our "combating pornography" section last November. The next topic up for debate, accupuncture, seems to have some folks quite concerned. I've received a handful of calls and e-mails asking for and advance copy of the article to see what it says. I'll be curious to get everyone's thoughts once it comes out next Friday (and is posted on our Web site).

(Note: Scroll to the end of the above link for links to the first three parts that have run, or go to our Archives and type in "New Age.")

CD giveaway

I have two promo copies of John Michael Talbot's latest CD, "Living Water 50th," to give away to the first two people who write me at editor@coloradocatholicherald.com. This is JMT's 50th recorded album, an amazing amount for about 30 years of work. For those not familiar with JMT, he founded the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage in rural Arkansas and has sold millions of albums. He is known for his contemplative, relaxing sound ("Healer of My Soul" and "Holy Is His Name" are two of my favorites), although he does go back to his secular rock roots from time to time. I've been a big fan of his since I learned of him in the mid-1990s and prefer his instrumental stuff (his "Pathways" series is awesome, particularly "Pathways to Solitude," and "The Quiet" is my most listened-to JMT disc).

Anyhow, this new release is much like most of his other ones. If you want to hear it, be one of the first two people to respond. Give me your mailing address, unless you want to pick it up at the Chancery (in which case you should stop by the Herald office to say hello).

[NOTE: The comment box is open in case you want to chat about John Michael Talbot and his music. Only e-mails sent to the above address will be considered for the CD giveaway. Don't leave your information in the comment box, please.]

Pictures from Peru

(CNS photo by Mariana Bazo, Reuters)

Click on this link and this link for some moving photo displays of the aftermath from the 8.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Peru last week. The photo slideshows were passed on to me by Father Ricardo Coronado, the diocesan judicial vicar and chancellor. He was a classmate of the priest who was killed while celebrating Mass when the earthquake hit on Aug. 15 -- the Feast of the Assumption. One warning... there are some unpleasant pictures, so you may want to make sure children are not around. Also, you'll need to know Spanish to read the supporting texts.

Mark your calendars

The Herald is cosponsoring two excellent theology of the body talks later this year:

Byzantine Father Thomas Loya -- 7 p.m. Oct. 25 (Thu.) at St. Mark Church in Highlands Ranch.

Christopher West -- 7 p.m. Dec. 5 (Wed.) at Divine Redeemer Church in Colorado Springs.

Many of you know Christopher West through the Body Language column syndicated through the Herald and through the dozens of books, CDs and videos that are available (and used by study groups across the country). Father Loya may not be as well known to you, but he is growing in demand at TOB and singles retreats and conferences around the country. He is very strong TOB speaker with a background in art (iconography). His very visual presentation, using examples from iconography and modern art/photography, really opens your eyes to how you look at the world around you. Both talks will be spectacular.

We'd love to give each speaker a huge crowd, so please come and spread the word to your friends. There is no cost to attend either talk, although a free-will offering may be taken to try to build a budget to bring in more speakers in 2008.

99 Balloons

This is a must-watch video that was sent to me today. It tells a beautiful story of faith and love amid fragile circumstances.

Elvis and Catholicism

In honor of the death of Elvis Presley, here is an interesting blog post about his link to Catholicism:

http://romanmiscellany.blogspot.com/2007/08/five-catholic-facts-about-elvis.html

Vocations talk

I was reading a wire article in the Gazette Sunday morning (this link is to a lengthier version of the story on another site) on how religious orders are trying to use Web tools like blogs, YouTube and Facebook to recruit vocations. Nice to see the New Evangelization in action. The Gazette version came with this text pulled out into a sidebar:

The Catholic Church is desperate to reverse a decades-long decline in religious vocations. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, the number of Catholic nuns in the United States has plunged from 179,954 in 1965 to 67,773 in 2006. For priests, the figures are only slightly better: a decline from 58,632 to 41,794. During the same period, the number of men being ordained priests annually fell by half, from 994 to 431.

The reasons for the downturn are varied: more secular lifestyles; more career options, especially for women; and family pressure not to join a religious order.

Yes, there is a sense of desperation these days about vocations, but amid that there is some encouraging news. Of course, you never hear the good news (unless it comes from the Catholic press) because, in the secular media, no sane man or woman would consider giving his or her life to Christ as a priest or nun. That, of course, would mean celibacy (at least in the Roman Catholic Church) and you'd have to be crazy to give up sexual intimacy. Ahh, I digress. That's a theology of the body discussion for another time (or you can read this link). Remind me to mention two awesome TOB-related talks coming to the diocese later this year. Anyhow, that same CARA survey shows that the number of seminarians in the U.S. in 1995 at 3,172 and actually growing -- even if it is slightly -- to 3,306 in 2006. That was only two less seminarians than in 2005, so we may be seeing some stability in new vocation numbers. In the Diocese of Colorado Springs, the number of seminarians has slowly increased in recent years. One, Father Rafael Torres-Rico, was ordained this summer and two more -- Bob Newbury and Kirk Slattery -- are scheduled to be ordained priests over the next year.

On a related note, here's a very intersting CARA breakdown of seminarians in 2007.

Well...

I'm a huge proponent of John Paul II's theology of the body and striving for man's original state of being "naked without shame." But I don't think this is what he had in mind...

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6572728

Please keep him in your prayers.

Unsettling product placement

I was in Walgreen's the other day to get medicine for my child, and I came across an odd juxtaposition of products on the store shelves. As I walked down the aisle, to the left were products for babies (medicine, food, diapers, etc.). To the right were birth control products. On the one side was an affirmation of life and on the other was the culture of death.

I walked out without purchasing anything.