catholicsentinel.org

Why exploit us?

I was extremely shocked, offended, and amazed that the editor would choose to use not one, but two suggestive drawings.
Sign remains

One indication of our esteem for Father Gary is the tribute which hangs in our volunteer closet: “We Love you Father Gary.”
One plan

God created the environment and gave stewardship to us as followers, not for its destruction.
The sin of anti-Semitism resurfaces

Almost 75 years after the last of the Nazi death camps were liberated, the world is watching a new generation succumb to the poison that many had assumed had been eliminated when the world was shown those horrors.
Pascasie's Catholic garden

"My garden was the pride of neighbors and visitors; people called it the Catholic garden," shared Pascasie Musabyemungu, who works for Catholic Relief Services in Rwanda. She tended to her outdoor garden as an offering to God.
Treasures in heaven

If you had met me when I was 22, you would have met a young woman who loved stuff. By that I mean, I could fill suitcases and suitcases with my high heels and handbags. The funny thing is I rarely used most of them.
They serve us

You’d think there were dozens. Even scores. But the Sisters of Reparation have been a duo for some time. Their spiritual influence in Portland far outweighs their number.
Miracle at Lanciano

I was 12 years old when my family took our first trip to Italy. We spent a good portion of time visiting my father’s cousins in Abruzzo. On a walk one afternoon through the town of Lanciano, a group of us were casually making our way down some old narrow streets. One of the cousins said something quickly while gesturing toward the facade of a church.
Honoring the Real Presence

Could deepening our respect for humanity help deepen our faith in divinity?
Don't miss the best thing

We don’t necessarily need a cheap T-shirt from Target to remind us of that reality, but it sure does help.
In secret you will be repaid

Is it possible that speech and rhetoric, the gift of human communication, can be an obstacle to the life of faith? St. Augustine’s conversion appears to be one from rhetoric to Christianity. What’s behind this shift?
The emigrant's brave farewell

We talk a great deal in this country about immigration, too often in language that is hostile or fearful. What we don’t talk about is emigration, the act of leaving one’s home.
From the Archives

The new edifice is beautifully located at the Eastern extremity of the city and is built in the Gothic style, the main edifice being sufficiently large to accommodate the congregation of East Portland for many years to come.
It motivated me

I just read Katie Scott’s excellent story on Father Gary Smith in the Catholic Sentinel. Thank you for the wonderful storytelling.
Excellent piece

I was inspired and grateful for the ministry and generosity that Father Smith has given to so many of God’s folk and continues to give.
Coming apart?

I think if only Luther could have hung around for 500 years, he would be watching the church he opposed so strongly coming apart from within.
More participation

You hit a grand slam by saying that, for Catholics, the “pinnacle” of doing this is by receiving the sacrament of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
Creative welcome

We should be just as creative as Our Lord.
9 takeaways for parenting in a pornified culture

Remember, it’s not a matter of if your child will encounter pornography, but when. So make sure each conversation includes, “when you encounter pornography, please come talk to me.”
Which Catholics?

We should remember there are many people who, when asked, claim to be Catholic even if they are not practicing.
Spiritual urgency

Below the billows of smoke is God’s creation being destroyed.
Old science

If, via the Big Bang (posited by a Catholic priest) God could usher a universe into being, and via evolution allow us as creatures to advance and improve continually, and via molecular structure allow matter to exist even though particles are impossible to pinpoint — then is it really hard to believe that the substance of bread and wine can be replaced by the substance of the divine force that makes everything happen in the first place?
Living the real life

Whenever I recite Verse 10 of Psalm 90, the Italian word "pazzo" comes to mind. The verse reads, "Seventy is the sum of our years, or 80, if we are strong; most of them are toil and sorrow; they pass quickly, and we are gone."
Do we really believe in the Real Presence?

When Pope Francis recently said that every time we receive Communion, it should be like our first time, it reminded me of a friend’s story.
Sowing love, not hatred

We’ve all lost something over the past couple of months. The tragic losses in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, shook the entire nation. Then, we lost nearly 300 family members in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement work raids in Mississippi.
Who is ignoring women's health?

"You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts." This observation, attributed to Democratic politician Daniel Patrick Moynihan, comes to mind as I see warring opinions about the Trump administration's latest conflict with Planned Parenthood.
Contradictory suicide messaging

The irony involves the moral outrage that surfaced regarding Michelle’s text messages. Similar indignation about encouraging someone to commit suicide is, paradoxically, almost entirely absent when it comes to “physician-assisted” suicide.
No back to school fun for child laborers

For millions of working children worldwide, the adventures of a new school year remain but a dream. Sadly, these children will never learn to read or write. They will not acquire computer skills. They will not experience singing in chorus, going on field trips or playing at recess. Their classrooms will be sweatshops, farm fields, and battlefields.
Heaven, not college, is the goal

MILWAUKIE — When a parent in a blog comment began to suspect that catechesis in Catholic schools is nowhere near as robust as it needs to be, and worried that this lack might endanger the salvation of his three teens in Catholic school, he asked for resources.
Marriage values

I guess that was back in the day when people were shocked. Our current president has not been true to any of his three wives, it appears.
Senators or nuns?

In the past 12 months, we witnessed the actions of our U.S. senators and representatives in the Kavanaugh and Russia hearings. So, who is preferable to exercise more control over our health care: Congress or the Sisters of Providence?
God’s grace is everywhere

This summer we entered earth’s paradise. Formed by five volcanoes over the span of much time, Hawaii’s big island was our home for nearly three weeks. The island reminded me that God’s footprints are everywhere.
Erosion of faith

Claiming that a person’s personal life and policy perspectives are influenced by the Catholic faith is disingenuous when she actively advocates for and supports policies and legislation that is intrinsically evil and opposed to basic Catholic doctrine and teaching.
Young people? Their parents do not know the faith

Those who were taught like me, 16 years of Catholic education under my belt, were weakly and many times incorrectly taught something other than the long held truths of the church.
God is calling us to break violence’s stranglehold on our world

In the words of Pope Francis we need to create a “culture of encounter” with all people – even our enemies.
An August evening’s encounter

It was a scorching late summer afternoon in Chicago, back in the second half of August 1947. My Aunt Toots was always much more frivolous than my mother. She talked my mom into going to the Chicago Theater, in the Loop, to listen to the music of the latest heartthrob for many young women across the country in those years immediately following World War II.
Millennials, help us

While previous generations got caught up in careers and making themselves comfortable and happy, millennials might be just right for the mission ahead.
Against hate

“The anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, anti-Muslim, and anti-Semitic sentiments that have been publicly proclaimed in our society in recent years have incited hatred in our communities.” The authors were three bishops who are chairmen of committees at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
An authentic democracy

PHILADELPHIA — Those of us who have grown up within the womb of a democratic society may not always recognize how radical the idea behind such a society actually is, nor how fragile its structure can be in the face of strident claims regarding individual freedoms. Legalization of abortion, to focus on one of the most strident claims, corrodes the very pillars of our democratic society.
Give us more

Far too many of your readers do not comprehend the growing number of groups constantly trying to use the church as ammunition to manipulate Catholic voters.
Red, white, blue

Through this our nation’s consecration, Mary’s blue light leads us to our Lord Jesus with the red and white of his Divine Mercy.
Same concern

Why are they not worthy of the same concern as throngs of people flooding the border?
May it help

To him, the procession was “an abomination” given the pain he and his brother have suffered and what he sees as a failure to make adequate reparations.
Wake up soon

How many people are being deluded into accepting our current society’s view regarding Christ’s teachings or Scripture? They go to the polls and vote individuals into office who ignore or are ignorant of Christ’s teachings.
I don’t get it

How can attending a Latin Mass with “smells and bells” somehow enable Mass attendees to come to a “mature, balanced position where self-determination and the demands of law can be harmonized”?
Warring moms

The battle cries sound like this: “You co-sleep? That’s horrible!” “You co-sleep? That’s wonderful!” “You use a stroller? What a disgrace.” “You carry your baby in a pouch? How odd.” “You fed your baby what?”
From the archives

Pat Wehrli of Fossil, a freshman at the University of Portland, has been named a princess in the 1962 Pendleton Round-Up court.
The ancient urge

Those in the gap — who believe but do not worship — might feel they are being admirably independent. But given human history, the “I’m spiritual but not religious” crowd is in a perilous position.
‘Yes, Lord. I Love you’

The gospels can seem like long ago stories in a faraway land, sometimes difficult to apply to our modern lives, but what I found on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land is that Jesus is alive with us today.
A sleepover with grandma

My grandmother’s eyes bulged as she watched every open space of her cozy apartment fill up with my clothes, toiletries, and snacks in the fridge. Lamenting to my mother she said, “It’s amazing how much stuff one petite person can bring.” But she grinned from ear to ear as we had a few days together.
How far is too far for Mass?

In the future, however, driving long distances for Mass may not be optional when the number of priests available are not enough to staff all the parishes and all the Masses to which people are accustomed.
A threat to civil rights

The Equality Act has been hailed as a measure to prevent discrimination. But for four reasons, it may pose the most serious threat to civil rights ever passed by a chamber of Congress.
Catholics protest U.S. practice of caging immigrant children

Many of us are not fond of seeing animals in cages. But when desperate human beings – especially children – who have trekked the grueling, dangerous journey mainly from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras fleeing gang drug violence, forced gang recruitment, extortion and crushing poverty finally arrive at the U.S. border pleading for safe asylum find themselves instead crammed into cages, it’s time for people of faith to take a stand and demand an end to this heartless cruelty.
To know Jesus

Jesus wants us to know him personally. To do that we must spend time reading and praying from the Bible every day.
It was a toothbrush

The instrument of discipline for the Saturday “invitation” I received to clean the Christ the King Parish parking lot was not a broom, but a toothbrush . . . My last visit with Father Weber was at Laurelhurst Village where the would-be wily sleuth was in hospice care. I thanked him for his post-disciplinarian life of pastoral care for many folks, including my sister.
American idea

Oregon’s governor and majority legislators have embarrassed our state by wholesale support of abortion for any reason, at any time, with the killing paid for by Oregon taxpayers.
Was he Catholic?

I am confused. The second paragraph says Lane County tape recorded the “sacramental confession of triple murder suspect Conan Wayne Hale. The fourth paragraph says, “Hale is now on death row — and has become Catholic.”
Securing authentic children’s rights

Children require extensive support and protection to meet their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. They are uniquely dependent on their parents because they are particularly vulnerable. Often they are unable to speak on their own behalf or effectively defend themselves from various forms of exploitation.
Curiosity may help us

On the night of July 20, 1969, I was a 4-year-old standing in my back yard staring at the moon. I tried for an hour to spy the astronauts who had landed that day.
A sweet sound

If we can’t make room or have patience for loud children during Mass, we will perpetuate the shame and disappointment these parents feel and that sometimes push them away from the church.
From the Archives

In 1816 he entered the Superior Seminary of Quebec and after a distinguished theological course was ordained to the priesthood on July 19, 1819, and celebrated his first Mass on the following day.
Vacation tip

A Gallup poll a few years ago indicated 55% of American adults had summer vacation plans, with July the most popular month to hit the beach or the snooze button.
From the Archives

His Grace became inured to this inconvenience during his Alaskan tour.
TV: The ruin of a disciplined people

We can trace virtually our whole situation to the mollycoddling of our bodies that goes along with sitting, watching, snacking, watching, snacking, watching, but also to the powerful preaching of demons that has poured into our homes for decades and decades as we let down our guard ever further.
Catholics’ special role in leadership

Throughout history, Catholics have always been at the forefront of major change because we hold the revealed truth of God’s word as eternal and unchanging.
Turning the other cheek

Those taking Deacon José to task appear to be of the mindset that to be a Christian is to be effete, “nice,” and never offer defense or make anyone feel uncomfortable about what they are doing. Apparently real action, appropriate to the situation, is somehow forbidden to the Christian.
Lessons for Earth 50 years after first moon landing

If you were at least 10-years-old on July 20, 1969, you will surely remember that your eyes were glued to a black and white television set watching what no eyes had ever seen before.
I pray for her

I find it distressing that in the article "A Capitol Faith", the Catholic Sentinel chose to highlight Rep Jennifer Williamson as an example of "Catholics whose faith influences both their personal lives and their policy perspectives".
Pragmatic pass

These Church leaders took a pragmatic pass while the faithful spoke out for justice. If the abortion industry is ever to be curtailed and the pre-born are ever to have a legally recognized right to life, it will be because people of conscience demand it.
I object

That is obstruction of justice.
Why laud her?

Why should a Catholic publication laud a legislator who has dramatically distanced herself publicly from perennial Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life?
No buts about it

The Sentinel gave Rep. Jennifer Williamson and Rep. Mike Nearman undo publicity.
Get it together

Congratulations on an article worthy of the Pulitzer. Through the story of Nichole and the concern and involvement of her parents, the truth about sex trafficking in Oregon is exposed.
Bad for kids

Beaverton’s school district has adopted Oregon’s K-12 Comprehensive Sexuality Education program. The 3Rs curriculum normalizes porn, discriminates against religion (especially Catholics), and encourages sexual relationships among the young.
Important film

Since our government funds Planned Parenthood, every government official should be required to see this film. If they continue to fund the organization, that will show they agree with the lies, falsehood, harm, suffering and pain women are plagued with.
There is another way

It is beyond wrong; it’s evil. To excuse it is to acquiesce to the “culture of death” that St. John Paul II warned against in Evangelium Vitae. And the Bible isn’t silent about immigrants.
Remember nonviolence

Meeting hate with love and violence with a defenseless cheek may not win elections, but it will add a little more divine will to the world.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY

I hope that we bring back the good — an appreciation of the transcendence of God through meaningful worship; remember the bad — the legalism of the past with a firm determination not to return to it; and correct and rectify the ugly — through vigilance, processes of accountability and greater transparency.
From the Archives

It’s a sad commentary on the ethos the American public that we seem unsure about whether it makes a difference that a president is faithful his wife. . . . The media and polls tell us that Americans don’t really care a great deal about the nature of President Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky as long as the economy remains strong.
WATCH: Call for film

From July until October 1961, more than 200 times Our Lady is reported to have appeared to four girls in Garabandal, Spain, with a message she wanted to spread throughout the world. It was a message of love and warning.
Independence Day 2019: Where do we go from here?

Such slogans as “My country right or wrong” and “America love it or leave it” are not patriotic; in truth they hurt the health of the United States. Americans who espouse such feelings ignore the nation’s many critical ills.
A welcomed routine change

You never know when a seemingly distasteful interruption might come along and change your life for the better.
How far the church has come this past year

For many Catholics these days, bishops are like members of Congress. We may like ours but distrust the lot of them. To judge from the reaction of social media to the U.S. bishops’ June meeting, not a few tweeters think they should all go for a swim with a millstone.
Halt propaganda

Anti-evangelization is still roaring out its propaganda and is still making many converts, especially among our young people. Local examples are not lacking.
Joseph a m