Setting the Record Straight

Recently we have seen more than one representative of a Catholic hospital opposing a bishop or bishops with regard to health care policies. Catholic hospitals -- like all hospitals -- receive a lot of government money in various forms, directly and indirectly. Perhaps they will now face a choice between government money and being truly Catholic, which means two things: ensuring that their medical practices conform with the moral teaching of the Church, and promoting the unity of the Church by not confusing people about who are the authentic teachers and pastors of the Church; namely, the bishops. A recent statement from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops aims to address this second point.

New York

This week I was obliged to travel to Huntington, New York, for the annual meeting of the Mariological Society of America, which starts tonight. I decided to fly out of Columbus a day early to visit my friend Fr. Carleton Jones, OP, Pastor of St. Vincent Ferrer parish in Manhattan. The parish church has been called one of the fifty most beautiful buildings in America. What do you think?
This was my first experience of getting from JFK airport to Manhattan via public transport. It's very easy if you don't have too much luggage. First you take something called the airtrain, which links all terminals, to Jamaica Station of the Long Island Railroad.

Then you take the LIRR right into Pennsylvania Station (track 1!).



Fr. Carleton and I had a leisurely breakfast this morning at a diner with a perfect name. It was good to catch up as we had not seen each other in about five years' time.
After midday Mass I packed up and dragged my little suitcase through the turnstiles and up and down the stairs of three different subway lines to return to Penn Station, where I caught the LIRR for Huntington. From that station I took a tax to the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception. In about 30 minutes I'll go downstairs to the refectory to unite with the other members of the MSA who are taking a bus in from LaGuardia airport. Theoretically.

It's All in Your Head -- Again

Many people don't believe me when I tell them, "When I was growing up, we weren't allowed to have allergies." "It's all in your head," we were told. Now, new research indicates that what we were told has some validity. Many people think they have this or that allergy but really don't. The full story may be found here. Now stop sniffling.