A sincere congratulations and thanks to JD, Ed, and everyone at the Pillar. If not for you guys, it seems a bishop very well may have gotten away with stealing upwards of $1 million - not just from his parish and diocese, but specifically from the poor - and gotten rewarded for it with a promotion.
Also, I have great admiration for the Holy Father flat-out dropping the hammer.
Thank you for the reminder to pray for Bishop Stika. It's far too easy, as you say, to turn these real people into good guys or bad guys--characters to root for or against. Stika was the Main Character at the Pillar for a while, and not in a good way. But he was a real man, with an awesomely heavy responsibility placed on him, and covered himself in the opposite of glory. He needs our prayers.
Pillar, great story and thanks for cracking this one. This guy needed to see the light of day. From a jail cell, not a brothel's window.
When Cardinal Sako - God bless him! - wanted to bring him back to Baghdad, he was like "Nahhhhh, too busy here". The Chaldani community has suffered a lot over the years and deserved someone a LOT better.
At least he now faces the music instead of the $9k airplane bail out. Honestly, what a jerk.
I personally feel dizzy with all the twists and turns of these stories - goodness me! At the same time, I am terrifically grateful that you at the Pillar keep us informed as well as enlightened - frankly, often entertained by your humor as well. Commendation to all of you for fantastic and hard work, especially at the pace that some of this "church stuff" seems to develop!! Kudos and thank yous all around!! Grateful to be a subscriber to Pillar AND Sunday School.
What the USCCB told the bishops in a memo about its Supreme Court brief on birthright citizenship is of no moment. The bishops can and should read the brief themselves. What matters is what the USCCB argued to the Supreme Court in its brief to that body, and whether in so arguing they squandered their theological credibility on Catholic social teaching to advance a partisan political ideology.
OK, Pillar folks, help me decide which St. Bernard's online class I should register for and valiantly try to keep up with but fizzle out after the second session: Liturgical Development and Reforms, American Saints and Blesseds, or Gospel of John: Theological Themes and Textual Analysis. (If I audit one of the first two courses, I'll be able to listen to three sessions while on flights to/from Uganda.)
I like to think that the "former FBI special agent" is just JD's dad.
A sincere congratulations and thanks to JD, Ed, and everyone at the Pillar. If not for you guys, it seems a bishop very well may have gotten away with stealing upwards of $1 million - not just from his parish and diocese, but specifically from the poor - and gotten rewarded for it with a promotion.
Also, I have great admiration for the Holy Father flat-out dropping the hammer.
Very excited for the explainer about the patriarchal election!
I think we’re getting ever closer to confirming that His Holiness is a Pillar reader (in a good way).
Thank you for the reminder to pray for Bishop Stika. It's far too easy, as you say, to turn these real people into good guys or bad guys--characters to root for or against. Stika was the Main Character at the Pillar for a while, and not in a good way. But he was a real man, with an awesomely heavy responsibility placed on him, and covered himself in the opposite of glory. He needs our prayers.
I was moved by the intercessions during today's Morning Prayer, in particular:
"Make us eager to work with you in building a better world,
— so that it may listen to your Church and its gospel of peace.
Jesus, you feed and heal our souls; come to strengthen us."
JD's words about, and the photo of, Bishop Stika resonated for me in a similar way. Grateful all around.
Thanks so much for the Ogilvie reflection.
Pillar, great story and thanks for cracking this one. This guy needed to see the light of day. From a jail cell, not a brothel's window.
When Cardinal Sako - God bless him! - wanted to bring him back to Baghdad, he was like "Nahhhhh, too busy here". The Chaldani community has suffered a lot over the years and deserved someone a LOT better.
At least he now faces the music instead of the $9k airplane bail out. Honestly, what a jerk.
I personally feel dizzy with all the twists and turns of these stories - goodness me! At the same time, I am terrifically grateful that you at the Pillar keep us informed as well as enlightened - frankly, often entertained by your humor as well. Commendation to all of you for fantastic and hard work, especially at the pace that some of this "church stuff" seems to develop!! Kudos and thank yous all around!! Grateful to be a subscriber to Pillar AND Sunday School.
What the USCCB told the bishops in a memo about its Supreme Court brief on birthright citizenship is of no moment. The bishops can and should read the brief themselves. What matters is what the USCCB argued to the Supreme Court in its brief to that body, and whether in so arguing they squandered their theological credibility on Catholic social teaching to advance a partisan political ideology.
"I would first of all that prayers be offered everywhere for all men...."
https://youtube.com/shorts/MtHYELltboY?si=njCDsVsmtnDjhdVR
I don’t think that the funeral liturgy was livestreamed. Rest in peace Bishop Rick Stika + 🙏
OK, Pillar folks, help me decide which St. Bernard's online class I should register for and valiantly try to keep up with but fizzle out after the second session: Liturgical Development and Reforms, American Saints and Blesseds, or Gospel of John: Theological Themes and Textual Analysis. (If I audit one of the first two courses, I'll be able to listen to three sessions while on flights to/from Uganda.)
Very inspiring story about Ogilvie - thx for sharing! And for the reminder about prayer…