Free Republic

PEOSTA, Iowa (CNS) -- For the craftsmen and artisans at New Melleray Abbey in Peosta, a relatively new ministry has expanded into a new state-of-the-art, 40,000-square-foot factory, almost five times larger than their previous facility. "Because of increasing demands for caskets, we were unable to keep up with production to satisfy demand, so we had to develop a new woodworking facility," said Sam Mulgrew, the operation's general manager. "It's not a highly automated factory. It has good dust collection, air quality and other features." In their work, the monks strive to produce burial caskets and urns that reflect their values...

In case you're keen for my $.02, I've previously stated that Fulton Sheen stands as the greatest American Catholic of all time. In terms of impact, none other before or since comes close. First on radio and then on television, over many Sunday and Tuesday nights, Sheen's panache, wit and humanity singlehandedly dismantled what remained of the Establishment myths of Catholic immigrants keen to establish Roman domination of the halls of power. Having captivated the popular imagination, he moved the church into the vanguard of the American mainstream. Barely three decades after Al Smith's faith kept him from the...

Silenced Trappist struggled with obedience while trying to lead the church on peace By Father Robert Nugent5/7/2006 America (www.americamagazine.org)NEW YORK (America) - Thomas Merton spent almost half his life in the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery in Kentucky. Strict silence was an integral part of the Trappist way of life when he entered in 1941. Merton took readily to the rule of strict silence, but circumvented it when necessary. By the mid-1960’s the Second Vatican Council’s renewal of religious life reached even contemplative orders, relaxing the rigorous observance of silence. During that time, Merton experienced a...