Author: Tom Faranda

If you watched any or all of the Discovery Channel series Everest: Beyond the Limit, you know who Russell Brice is. Brigid and I watched and enjoyed the whole of last year’s series. Brice runs about the most successful high mountain-climbing commercial operation, Himalayan Experience. he’s never lost a client and gotten 300 people to…

I have shamelessly ripped this off from Michelle Malkin – UPDATE – Obama’s Gloves Are Off — And May Need to Stay Off – washingtonpost.com But the candidate who rocketed to stardom as the embodiment of a new kind of politics — hopeful, positive and inspiring — saw his image tarnished in the bruising fight…

Still working my way through all the pictures we took Sunday at the Yankee Stadium Papal Mass. But here are a few pictures from the concert that went from noontime to about 2 o’clock. When we arrived, the West Point Cadet Catholic Choir was singing. The stage is set up on the infield, and the…

Well OK, that’s an exaggeration. But those of us from Holy Name of Mary thought it was pretty cool that our Pastor, Fr. Michael Keane, was one of four priests charged with organizing the hundreds of priests who distributed communion. And our associate pastor, Fr. Loyola, was up on the podium/altar for the entire Mass,…

We (all of us; Brigid, Joe, Tim and I) were fortunate to be at Yankee Stadium yesterday afternoon for the Papal Mass. i will post some pictures later today I hope. Here are excerpts from the Pope’s homily Saturday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral – MOVING ST. PAT’S HOMILY – New York Post I join you…

i listened to Benedict’s address on the radio. He laid out broad themes without any specifics, or mentioning any countries. A little bit difficult to follow while listening and working, because of his accented English. It will be interesting to read the whole text. Here’s coverage in the WaPo and NYT. Pope Stresses Human Rights,…

As i mentioned here, Tom Faranda’s Folly: The Washington Post on Catholic schools and the papal visit this is an important topic to the Faranda’s. Pope: Re-commit to Catholic schools | lohud.com | The Journal News Benedict is a veteran university professor and committed scholar, so his speech about education was eagerly anticipated. Some observers…

This is Ben Stein’s movie, which seems to be somewhat controversial. One of the main premises of the movie is that politically incorrect professors get denied tenure or otherwise harassed if they dispute the accepted scientific dogma – think Intelligent Design (of Global Warming?). The review (3 stars out of 4) is from Christianity Today.…

In the Washington Post – For Crowd, Miraculous Moments – washingtonpost.com The crowd that mobbed Nationals Park to see, or just be near, Pope Benedict XVI yesterday was a joyous, kaleidoscopic tableau of Catholics and non-Catholics from across the country who said they were drawn by faith, hope and a sense of the history of…

Avery Dulles is the son of former Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. He graduated from Harvard in 1940, the same year he converted from agnosticism to Catholicism. He joined the Jesuits in 1946 and was ordained a priest in 1956. A fine theologian and prolific writer, he was named a Cardinal in 2001 by…