Early Summer Reading

Since I returned home from visiting the Danube River valley on Viking River Cruises, I've been doing lots of reading.  Here are a few of my favorite articles:

Pope Francis issued a papal bull on April 11, announcing an "Extraordinary Year of Mercy" from December 8, 2015 (Feast of Immaculate Conception) through November 26, 2016 (Feast of Christ the King).  "Misericordiae Vultus".  It well worth reading, from its first sentence, "Jesus Christ is the face of the Father's mercy," through its cryptic announcement of "missionaries of mercy" to be sent by the pope around the world, to the call for Doors of Mercy in significant churches in every diocese and local community throughout the world.  www.vatican.va (Pope Francis/messages/papal bull) .

Peter Steinfels opened (again) a painful issue in the Catholic Church with his examination of why no high ranking hierarch has addressed the issue of contraception in the run-up to the Synod of Bishops this fall. "Contraception and Honesty:  An Elephant in the Synod".  www.commonwealmagazine.org 

Tom Reese, S.J. writes a weekly column on issues of church, justice and human rights online at www.ncronline.org, the website of National Catholic Reporter.  Two excellent recent posts were an interview with a scholarly biographer of soon-to-be saint Junipero Serra, OFM, and five myths about the yet-to-be-released papal encyclical on the environment.  Father Reese is the former editor of America magazine and author of Archbishop, A Flock of Shepherds, and Inside the Vatican, a trilogy of books for anyone interested in the Catholic Church.  

Pittsburgh's own "biker priest" Father Lou Vallone got even more attention with a recent profile in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette here .  Father Lou is a man for all seasons:  pastor of two parishes, retreat master, revivalist, preacher, storyteller, canon lawyer, and friend of high and low (including yours truly).  

Three websites I've recently been viewing are

• www.realclearreligion.org .  Has a smorgasbord of stories on religion from all over the spectrum.  Updated daily.  Worth seeing is the list of "ugliest churches" and "ugliest vestments in the world" (see link in upper left hand corner).  What a hoot!

• www.fivethirtyeight.com .  Founded by former New York Times columnist Nate Silver, who first got fame predicting recent presidential election results to the tenth of a percentage.  Area topics include politics (naturally), economics, science, life and sports.  Updated daily.

• www.cara.georgetown.edu .  The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate is the clunky title of one of the neatest think tanks in Washington, D.C.  It was founded by religious orders in 1964 to do scientific research on issues of the Catholic Church.  It's now associated with Georgetown University, and turns out excellent surveys and information.  Updated monthly. 

Let me know what you are reading.