A letter from a former slave to his former slaveowner in Tennessee is causing quite a stir. It’s an amazing story and it comes to us from the blog Letters of Note. The owner, Colonel P.H. Anderson, of Big Spring, Tennessee, actually had the audacity to write requesting that he return to his farm after …
Category Archive: social justice
Jan
16
Day 2: More from Glenmary Farms
Megan Blackmer, or Meggie as I call her (she calls me Mikey and is one of the few people I ever let call me that), reflects on her time serving the needs of adults with mild to moderate psychological disorders at Comprehend, a hang out spot for people with those needs in Vanceberg, KY. She …
Dec
19
An Old Man’s Advent Dream
Deacon Bill Ditewig, one of my heroes, wrote possibly the most beautiful advent reflection I’ve read to date. Here’s a snip: Right now we have many Catholics who don’t even like to reach out and take someone else’s hand at the greeting of peace before communion. Those folks are really not going to like my …
Dec
18
Kim Jong Il Dead: What’s Next for North Korea?
It’s a dangerous time for North Korea (and the world) now that Kim Jong Il is dead. Nicholas Kristof of the NY Times shared this snip on Facebook moments ago. North Korea is by far the most repressive and totalitarian country I’ve ever visited; it makes Syria or Burma seem like democracies. In North Korea, …
Dec
09
Change
Deacon Greg pointed me to this video which I too, found moving. What causes you to change or helps you bring about change in others?
Nov
04
Mets Pitcher to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro to Fight Human Trafficking
R.A. Dickey has two daughters and can’t imagine what he’d do if they were sold into slavery.
Oct
25
Kinship
At our awards ceremony at Fordham, Fr. Greg Boyle talked much on kinship, the idea that we’re all brothers and sisters and therefore responsible to and for one another. Fr. Greg is able to transmit that idea to the gang members he works with and it helps in getting them end their violence against one …
Oct
14
KC Bishop Finn Charged with Failure to Report Child Abuse
Sadness continues. You’d think that people would learn. Bishop Finn of Kansas City – St. Joseph has pled not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failing to report suspected child sexual abuse. David Gibson filled us in about this case months ago. Today the creepiness hit the fan. The child pornography case involving Fr. Shawn …
Sep
27
What Does Home Mean to You?
So I’m beginning a third year here in Buffalo and it’s taken some time but Buffalo is starting to feel more and more like “Home.” I wouldn’t say that it’s completely there as of yet, but I began to wonder what people consider “home.” I know an obvious place for me is where I live …
Sep
15
Refugees in a 9-11 World
BustedHalo has a great story up on a Catholic Volunteer’s experience working with refugees last year. Full disclosure: I was one of her support people. Her experience can teach us all a thing or two about what they face when they come here and how we are called to welcome the stranger. Early on in …







Are We Friends?