Great Father’s Day Gift

June 19, 2009

Still looking for a last minute gift for Dad for this Father’s Day?  Look no further. Catholic Charities USA is offering a Father’s Day e-card in English or Spanish.

The way this works is as follows.  When you sign up for the e-card, you make a donation to Catholic Charities in honor of your Dad.  Then you personalize a card provided online by Catholic Charities and it is sent to your Father.  It’s easy and quick to do.  And your donation can make a profound effect in the lives of the poor and vulnerable served by Catholic Charities.  Give it a try!

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Statistics on Catholics in the US

June 15, 2009

The latest statistics on Catholics in the US have been released.  Highlights, as of January 1,2009,  are as follows:

  • 68.1 million Catholics in the US (22%)
  • 41,489 priests (diocesan and religious)
  • 60,715 sisters
  • 4,905 brothers
  • 16,935 permanent deacons
  • 18,674 parishes

Additional information can be found in the press release and in the analysis by Catholic News Service.

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Vatican Dips Its Toes in the World of Social Networking

June 9, 2009

The Vatican has a new website called Pope2You.net   The site has a link to a Facebook page where you can send a prayer for the sick, send a virtual postcard to others, download messages from the Pope, and sign up for future emails.  Notably missing is the “wall” where visitors can write comments and interact with each other.

The site also offers links to send video and audio downloads of Vatican news to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

A link is also provided for the Vatican’s YouTube channel which was launched earlier.

Another link on the site offers an intriguing format.  The link is for “WikiCath” which the site claims is an interactive way, using wiki-technology, to read the Pope’s message on the World Day of Communication.  This section breaks up the message into parts and provides links to background information on key words and phrases.  I am reminded of the North American Commentary to the Code of Canon Law which also provides background information to key parts of each canon.  So often you learn much more from reading the commentary than just reading the Code alone.

WikiCath amazingly invites comments.  Currently, when you click on the comment button, an email message appears indicating that your comments will be sent via email, and thus won’t be posted.  The Italian bishops’ conference is helping the Vatican to work with this site.

I have to smile as I watch the Vatican start to use new technology for communication.  I think it’s great!   I smile because it is such a cautious, exploratory attempt.  And I have to be honest in admitting that I am also a “newbie” in some of these technology areas and thus also tread cautiously when trying these technologies.  Every step forward is definitely welcome.  The challenge will come, in my opinion, in the missing step that so many young people around the world take so easily.  That step is opening up one’s site so that visitors’ comments are visible to all, and thus encourage interaction.  

Not everyone is ready for this step and I can’t blame them.  I still don’t totally understand the allure for young people of posting their daily lives and friends’ comments on a site that is open to the public.  Yet, it would definitely be intriguing to visit a Vatican site where the public could post comments and interact on any given topic.  Maybe we’re not ready for that yet.  But given these first steps using Facebook, YouTube, WikiCath, and the iPhone, one can only hope.

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Memories of Young Life Lost

June 5, 2009

News reports of the murder of the doctor who performed late-term abortions are now highlighting the stories of some his clients.  One woman learned in her third trimester that her child had a tragic illness and would not live more than a day after birth.

Families who find themselves unexpectedly in a similar situation are faced with shock, sadness and grief.   As they approach what should be a joyous event — the day of birth, they know that it will also be a time of devastating sorrow. 

An organization that donates its talents to help these families heal is Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.  This foundation coordinates over 7,000 photographers worldwide who volunteer their time to come to the hospital or hospice and take heirloom portraits of the child during it’s too brief life.  The photographers then give the photos on a CD to the family as a keepsake of their child.  All services are provided for free.

Parents find that with time, the photos help with the healing process.  The portraits honor and cherish their baby and help them share the child’s spirit with others.  As the song on the organization’s website poignantly describes, these parents find that ”we say hello at the same time we say goodbye.”   The photos help their child continue to be a part of their lives in the future.

When a family finds themselves in this paralyzing situation, learning that their child will never be able to come home from the hospital, as Catholics we need to be there for them.  Trying to stop a tragic late-term abortion delays the child’s death and the means of death, but it still doesn’t address the real and sudden needs of the family.  These families need more.  They need others to journey with them.  They need to be assured that their child’s brief life has meaning.   They need faith and they need hope. 

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep is not Catholic nor religiously affiliated.  But what it does for families in time of grief can be called nothing short of ministry.

Leave a Comment » | Catholic, Children, Disabilities, Hope, Medical Ethics, Prolife, Volunteer Opportunities, parenting | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
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