Thursday, 26 January 2012 12:33

Written by Ann Rodgers

A Unitarian minister will offer reflections on the life of the Catholic monk and writer Thomas Merton on Tues. Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. in East Liberty Presbyterian Church.
This ecumenical and interfaith event will kick off a year-long celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Thomas Merton Center, a local activist group dedicated to peace and social justice.
Despite his vow of silence, Father Merton became famous in the wake of World War II for his spiritual memoir, The Seven Storey Mountain. It detailed his progression from a careless, highly secular unbeliever through his conversion to Catholicism and his entrance into a Trappist monastery just after Pearl Harbor. The book became a bestseller, and was responsible for many conversions to Catholicism in the post-war years.
He continued to write, turning his reflections to social justice and opposition to the war in Vietnam. Some Catholics were deeply disturbed by his exploration of commonalities between Catholic and Buddhist monastic practices. He died in an electrical accident in 1968, while attending a conference in Thailand for Catholic and Buddhist monks.
Four years later, the Thomas Merton Center took his name. The center isn't Catholic, but drew

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Tuesday, 17 January 2012 15:48

Written by Ann Rodgers

Who knew that a former editor of The Pittsburgh Catholic could be so cool?

A song that Bridgeville resident Mike Aquilina co-wrote with fifties teen hearthrob Dion has made the Playlist of recommended new music in Rolling Stone.  Dion DiMucci is a convert to Catholicism, and teamed up with Mike (who is better known for collabortation with Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC) to write his memoir.

In the process, they also wrote some songs together.

"He asked if I wanted to work with him on them. How do you say no to a question like that?! I share songwriting credits on five songs on the new CD. We've also written some material for the next CD -- and for a forthcoming Broadway show based on his life," Mike said.

The song in question is "I read it (in the Rolling Stone)," so perhaps that helped with the heads-up from the magazine, which also gave the album a stellar review. The album, "Tank Full of Blues" is already a bestseller on Amazon.although it has yet to be released.

Friday, 13 January 2012 03:02

Written by Ann Rodgers

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is held each year by the Catholic Church and the many Protestant and Orthodox bodies in the World Council of Churches, to remember Jesus' prayer for his followers, "that they may all be one."

Individual congregations throughout the Pittsburgh region may be holding events between Jan. 18 and Jan. 25, 2012 to commemorate this week. But some of the major ones come from Christian Associates, the regional ecumenical organization that includes the Catholic, Orthodox and many Protestant churches in its membership. All of the services are open to anyone who wishes to attend.

On Wed. Jan. 18 at noon in Smithfield United Church of Christ, Downtown, a special service will be led by the jail chaplaincy group that Christian Associates sponsors. The preacher will be the Rev. Jack Sullivan, Jr., president and regional minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Pennsylvania.

The Rev. Sullivan will also preach at the unity liturgy on Sun. Jan. 22 at 3 p.m. in Blessed Sacrament Catholic Cathedral, Greensburg. The worship leader will be Bishop Thomas Bickerton of the United Methodist Conference of Western Pennsylvania, who is well known as a national leader in efforts to end the plague of malaria in Africa.

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Friday, 30 December 2011 17:49

Written by Ann Rodgers

So I was cleaning out my seriously backed-up inbox, and found this invitation to everyone for a New Year's Eve peace vigil from the Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh. My apologies for not posting it sooner:

The Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh will hold a New Year’s Eve Peace Vigil, Welcoming the Stranger:  Immigration Stories, Prayer & Sharings on Saturday, December 31, 2011 at their Monastery chapel located at 4530 Perrysville Avenue, Ross Township.  Those who wish may begin their evening with Vespers at 4:30 PM, 5:00 P.M. Dinner,  followed by a 6:00 P.M. Peace Concert with music provided by Marguerite Link and Bill Brinzer.   The Peace and Prayer Vigil will begin at 6:30 P.M. and persons are welcome to attend this portion only.  If you do plan to attend vespers followed by dinner, please call the monastery at 412-931-2844 by Wednesday, December 28 to make reservations or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .