The author of this Sunday’s reading from 2 Timothy recalls being “rescued from the lion’s mouth” and “from every evil threat” and looks forward to being brought safely to the Lord’s heavenly kingdom. But these days it is the animal kingdom--from the mighty lion to the humble coral reef--that is under threat . . .

“The Lord is a God of justice,” we are assured in this Sunday’s first reading, not deaf to the complaints of those who suffer. The French nation is reeling this week from strikes by defiant oil workers who complain that . . .

“The Lord hears the cry of the poor,” we affirm in the psalm response this Sunday. Unfortunately, the Lord is hearing from a lot more people these days. Thanks to the recession, 2009 was one of the worst years for poverty . . .

Jesus tells a story of pride and humility in this Sunday’s gospel. From the “exalted will be humbled” file this week comes news that Crystal Cathedral Ministries, a glistening Southern California landmark and megachurch founded . . .

From the “humble shall be exalted” side of the gospel equation comes news that bumbling, beloved Homer Simpson is being claimed as family by none other than L’Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper . . .

“If the church expects to increase the size of its Sunday congregations, it has a lot of work to do on the quality of preaching and the quality of the Sunday liturgies. . . . We are not supposed to be entertainers, complain the clergy. Yet, people followed after Jesus because they liked to listen to his stories.”

Internet use has increased the time spent "consuming" news by 18 minutes a day, a Pew Center survey found, and the average person still spends an hour a day with newspapers, TV, and other forms of "traditional" media--a figure unchanged from 10 years ago.