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DENVER - A former Denver police officer who recently became a Roman Catholic priest remains in critical condition after suffering a massive heart attack Monday evening. The Rev. John O'Shea was ordained on Saturday and gave his first mass on Sunday. He joked at the time about how nervous he was in his new job compared to his old one. “I've had people point guns at me and I wasn't as scared as I was for this," O’Shea told parishioners. In addition to serving with the police force for more than 25 years, O’Shea has ten children. He decided to...

  Mel Gibson, 'The Passion,' and critics who can't wait May 28, 2003 Denver Catholic Register   I enjoy films, and Mel Gibson has made some fine ones. He also has a reputation as a man who takes his Christian faith, his marriage, his family and his values seriously. When Gibson began filming "The Passion" some time ago in Rome — a vivid depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus as recounted in the Gospels — a lot of people took notice. The movie was shot entirely in the ancient languages of Latin and Aramaic. With Catholic Jim Caviezel ("The...

Polycarp, aka Dr. Brian Kopp, will be interviewed today at 12:30 PM Eastern by FR supporter Blanquita Cullum on her program, News Beat, on the Radio America network. Polycarp is involved in fighting the homosexual agenda in the Altoona Johnstown Diocese.

Priest, Marine reunite in desert Submitted by: 2d Force Service Support Group Story Identification Number: 200351685612 Story by Sgt. A.J. Grdovich CAMP FOX, Kuwait(May 15, 2003) -- For many Marines and sailors the desert is simply a place far away from loved ones and family, but for two of the faithful it is a place where old friends reunite and work together again. If the saying "birds of a feather flock together" has ever held any weight, Father Timothy Hogan and Robert Kaminski are a prime example of the stereotype. The two service members are currently serving in the Middle...

A teenage US marine has told of his relief to be alive after being shot eight times by Iraqi snipers. PFC Michael Wayne Meyer, 18, of Austin, Texas, says he has no regrets about not making it all the way to the Baghdad. He told reporters "coming home alive," was his main goal. Meyer was helping unload equipment when his unit came under fire. He was shot eight times, but two of the bullets were stopped by the breastplate in his flak jacket. He said: "Usually in a reserve platoon (we) don't have much to worry about because Iraqis have...

Police Arrest Man Suspected of Killing Georgia Nun By Sonja Barisic Associated Press Writer NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - The man suspected of killing and mutilating one nun and abducting another after murdering his father was arrested early Thursday, police said. Adrian O'Neill Robinson, 25, was arrested at a Norfolk fast food restaurant at about 1:45 a.m., police said. Police had been searching for him since Sunday, when they say he shot his 56-year-old father, Henry, at the home they shared in the western Georgia town of Hamilton. Family members told authorities that Robinson accused his father of sexually assaulting him...

Commentary and Consequences Do protesters have the right to assail the war during hostilities? Of course. Are they morally responsible for the consequences of their protest? You betcha.by Hugh Hewitt 03/26/2003 3:25:00 PM Hugh Hewitt, contributing writer UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Law School Professor Erwin Chemerinsky has been my colleague in the commentary business for a decade, and for the past three years a weekly guest, along with Chapman Law School Professor John Eastman, on my radio program. Together we try to make the issues of constitutional law entertaining and accessible. Erwin is hard left but brilliant, one of...

<p>The Greatest Story, Newly Told Mel Gibson on "The Passion," and the passion behind it.</p> <p>BY RAYMOND ARROYO Friday, March 7, 2003 12:01 a.m.</p> <p>ROME--Bounding around Studio 5 on the Cinecittà lot, not far from the catacombs, Mel Gibson is giving the performance of his life. In the shadow of an olive tree, wrapped in blue fog, he is at first a trembling Judas yanking at his lip, now a torch-toting member of Herod's guard. After expelling a cough (the remnant of a flu bug) and running a hand though his mane, he is suddenly a placid Messiah. Sadly, none of this is being captured on film. But the athletic directing style betrays a zeal--an almost spiritual possession--to tell a story still confined to Mr. Gibson's mind yet known to millions. "It's going longer than I'd like," he whispers, as the actors try to copy his performance. "They've got to get into my head to see what I see . . . and you should see what it looks like from the inside." With a roll of his eyes, he is back on set demonstrating for the Italian day players.</p>

Back in Bagram, Harriers Take the War to the Terrorists By R. R. Keene On the wind-swept plains 35 miles north of Kabul, there's a flutter of a canvas tent flap caused by a gush of thin, cold air as it races along the 5,000-foot-high plateau. It rattles the razor wire encircling the sandbagged tent camp at the airfield outside Bagram, an encampment to more than 200 "Flying Nightmares" of Marine Attack Squadron 513. It is a long way from their home at Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz. The tents, 16 feet by 32 feet general purpose, shiver but...

Rosen: Council's mushy buffet February 28, 2003 It's not true that anyone who opposes the war to remove Saddam Hussein from power, disarm Iraq and liberate the oppressed Iraqi people is an America-hating, left- wing pacifist. Some opponents of the war are merely impractical wishful thinkers, isolationists or misguided appeasers. Paleo-conservatives like Pat Buchanan and doctrinaire libertarians fall into one or more of the latter categories. But make no mistake about it, the usual suspects from old-line Marxist and "peace-at-any-price" organizations are very much a part of the current incarnation of the anti-war movement. Those groups include the Socialist Party...

Anti-Bush sentiment a hot-button issue Teacher's political expression sparks free-speech debate By Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News February 27, 2003 Linda Fowler is proud of her military roots. Fowler was offended by teacher's button. Her grandfather served in World War II. Her father is a Korean War veteran. Assorted relatives and friends are now en route to possible war in the Middle East. So when Fowler's son came home from West Jefferson Middle School a couple weeks ago and described a button his teacher wore that day, an emblem bearing the sentiment "He's Not My President," her response was immediate...

Osprey's flight tests `going well,' Pentagon official says BY RICHARD WHITTLE The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The V-22 Osprey's flight tests are "going well," Defense Undersecretary Pete Aldridge said Friday, adding that he will visit the program's Maryland office next week to assess its progress in detail. "I'm always skeptical until I'm proven otherwise," said the Pentagon procurement chief, who previously had expressed doubts that the tilt-rotor troop transport would be suitable for combat missions. But without declaring any change of heart, Aldridge allowed that the flight test program for the controversial Marine Corps aircraft "is laid...

HMM-263 gets "gassed" in Djiboutian skies Submitted by: Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Story Identification Number: 20032211523 Story by Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti(Jan. 30, 2003) -- CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti -Two CH-53Es from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron - 263 demonstrated their capabilities by "gassing up" in mid-air while carrying two High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV's) during an aerial refueling exercise Jan. 30 in the skies over Djibouti. The heavy-lift helicopters, from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron - 772, a reserve squadron based in Willow Grove, Pa., are attached to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special...

Church dedicates Lourdes center St. Vincent site is 2nd in U.S. to distribute water from shrine By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News January 2, 2003 The miracle is in the faith. But maybe there's something in the water, too. More than 500 people packed the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, still festooned with pine garlands graced by delicate white Christmas lights, on the first day of the new year for a Mass and dedication of its Lourdes Marian Center. A phalanx formed by the Knights of Columbus, their hats topped by feathered crests in purple, green, yellow and white...

The 'Our Father': Appropriate gestures for prayer December 18, 2002 As we stand after singing the "Amen" to the Eucharistic prayer, we come to the beginning of the Communion Rite. This part of Mass includes the "Our Father," the sign of peace, the breaking of the bread, reception of holy Communion and thanksgiving, and the prayer after Communion. Toward the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest prays, "May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit. ... Make us grow in love." We were privileged to...

The Christmas Mystery By George Weigel As John Saward reminds us in his new book on Christmas, Cradle of Redeeming Love, a "mystery" of faith is not a "mystery" in Sherlock Holmes' sense of the term. A Christian "mystery" is not a riddle we need more information to unravel; a Christian "mystery" is something too full of meaning for us to grasp completely. A Christian "mystery" is not a puzzle to be solved intellectually; it's a truth so overflowing with meaning that it can only be embraced in love. That is especially true of Christmas, for the incarnation of the...

Pro-life wins and trouble for Catholic Democrats By George Weigel Media commentary on last month's elections has generally ignored one important fact: many pro-abortion political action committees saw their candidates get clobbered, while pro-life forces registered significant gains. NARAL, the leading pro-abortion lobbying group, went down in flames, losing nine of the eleven U.S. Senate races it focused on and batting six for twenty-six in the House of Representatives. Emily's List, a well-funded PAC that supports pro-abortion women, did even worse: it batted one for ten. On the other side, the National Right to Life Committee saw its candidates win...

LONGTIME EWTN Q & A EXPERT DR. BILL BILTON DIES Editor of The Southern Cross Catholic Newspaper in California Irondale, AL (EWTN) - Bill Bilton, Ph.D., long-time EWTN Global Catholic Network employee and Leeds, Alabama resident died this morning at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, after suffering a brain aneurysm at his home yesterday evening. He was 58 years old and is survived by his mother, Peggy. Bilton had been with EWTN for more than eight years, beginning his tenure in the Viewer Services Department where he served as Coordinator of Viewer Services. Because of his extensive religious and secular...

Every election is a tale of two virtues By Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. October 30, 2002 Every election is a tale of two virtues: prudence and courage. Prudence is the right rudder of reason, the virtue that helps us judge what we should do in any particular circumstance to achieve good and avoid evil. In politics, prudence seeks the common good by weighing alternatives, making reasonable compromises and avoiding unnecessary conflict. Not every campaign issue is life and death, and no candidate is perfect. Good people can often choose to vote for very different political courses. Of course, prudence...