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21 Dec 2008 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's first reading we hear of the Lord's promise that the people of Israel will have a place where they will live "without further disturbance." When it comes to a parking place in crowded New York City, however, apparently even Santa doesn't rate such a privilege. Chip Cafiero said he'll fight the $115 ticket he received from a traffic agent in Brooklyn on the day after Thanksgiving when he was delivering gifts-dressed as Santa. The 60-year-old retired schoolteacher was riding a horse-drawn carriage and handing out toys and candy canes. An SUV carrying the toys and protecting the horse from traffic was double parked next to him. Cafiero said he yelled, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" to get the traffic agent's attention because the SUV wasn't blocking traffic. But in his words, "This grinch just went ahead and fined me." Source: An article by the New York Daily News

santa chip cafiero new york city brooklyn christmas presents traffic tickets
The tax man cometh

18 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

We "have been purchased at a price," this Sunday's second reading reminds us. State governments are thinking the same thing about items bought by their residents online, and the days of buying things tax free on the internet could be drawing to a close. As the economy worsens and state budget deficits soar, an increasing number of states want online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by their residents-even if the seller has no physical presence in the state, such as a retail outlet. That development is sparking conflict with companies that do business online only and have enjoyed being able to offer sales-tax free shopping. One of the most aggressive states, New York, is being sued by Amazon.com Inc. over a new requirement that online companies must collect taxes on shipments to New York residents, even if the companies are located elsewhere. The amount of money at stake nationwide is unclear; online sales were expected to make up about 8 percent of all retail sales in 2008. One estimate claimed that if Web retailers had to collect taxes on all sales to consumers, it could generate $3 billion in new revenue for governments. Collecting online sales taxes is not as simple as it might sound. A nationwide Internet business faces thousands of tax-collecting jurisdictions--states, counties, and cities--and tangled rules about how various products are taxed. A 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling said that states can't force businesses to collect sales taxes unless the businesses have operations in that state. The court also said Congress could lift the ban, which remains in place-for now. Source: An article by Rachel Metz for the Associated Press

taxes state government internet sales tax online buying new york amazoncom
Landing a spot at the inauguration

25 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's second reading Saint Paul alerts the church at Corinth that "time is running out." U.S. Airways Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger sent a similar message to air traffic controllers last Thursday before bringing an Airbus A320 down for an emergency landing in the Hudson River. President Obama spoke with the California pilot on Monday, and Sullenberger told him, "Me and my crew, we were just doing our job.' " Said Obama on Monday, "And it made me think, if everybody did their job-whatever that job was-as well as that pilot did his job, we'd be in pretty good shape." Obama invited Sullenberger and his crew and family to attend Tuesday's inauguration. The probe into the crash landing of the jetliner may take a year, but the lessons learned from the spectacular accident will last much longer, a senior investigator said this week. "I think this one is going to be studied for decades," said Robert Benzon, chief investigator on the case for the National Transportation Safety Board. Benzon said the fact that all 155 people aboard the plane survived removes the guilt and finger-pointing that sometimes accompany aviation accidents. He said lessons learned from the successful ditching into the Hudson River could improve air safety. "In one like this, I think there's potential for a lot of good to come out of it, long-term good," he said. Source: An article by Larry Neumeister for the Associated Press

new york city chesley sullenberger us airways hudson river robert benzon national transportation safety board crashes aviation accidents
Welcome to the Big Apple

01 Mar 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist this Sunday asks God for teaching and guidance. The Archdiocese of New York will soon be guided by a new shepherd, Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan. Dolan succeeds Cardinal Edward Egan, 76, who retires after nine years in the post that Pope John Paul II once called "archbishop to the capital of the world." At his inaugural news conference a few hours after the appointment was announced Monday, Dolan shared the stage with his predecessor, whom he will officially replace when he is installed on April 15. Dolan, who has a doctorate in American church history, acknowledged that he and the archdiocese face challenges of historic proportions, with fewer Catholics marrying in the church, attending Mass, or joining the priesthood. "Those are the things we bishops worry about," he said. "It's not the money stuff that keeps us awake at night." Dolan is known to be orthodox in his theology, but in choosing him Pope Benedict XVI passed over other candidates who are equally conservative but more confrontational with priests, parishioners, and politicians who question church teaching. "Our priests are on the front lines of an important ministry, so I'm here to help them," Dolan said. "I'm their servant, I work for them, and I need them more than ever." The archdiocese, the nation's second largest after Los Angeles, has undergone huge shifts in recent decades. As in other parts of the country, many Catholics who once lived in cities have moved to the suburbs. And though New York is better off than most dioceses in its ratio of priests to parishioners, priests are aging and retiring far more quickly than new seminarians are signing up to take their place. Many New York priests had also complained about their deteriorating relationship with the outgoing archbishop. Egan said at the news conference that his "greatest sadness" was that the archdiocese did not produce more vocations to the priesthood. Late in the afternoon Dolan visited St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, which will graduate only three students this year to be ordained as priests for the New York archdiocese. Dolan said that increasing vocations was his "first mandate." Asked his strategy, he said, "Happiness attracts." Source: Articles by David Gibson for the New York Daily News and Laurie Goodstein for the New York Times

vocations new york timothy dolan edward egan priests
Attempted car bomb rattles New York City

09 May 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The new Jerusalem is front and center in this Sunday's reading where the old order has passed away and pain and death are no more. That we have yet to accomplish this new order was painfully obvious with the recent attempted terrorist attack in New York City. Investigators are looking at links to the Pakistani Taliban after the arrest late Monday of Faisal Shahzad, 30, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, accused of a failed car bombing in Times Square last Saturday. Federal authorities said Shahzad has provided valuable intelligence in addition to admitting that he drove the car bomb into Times Square and received bomb-making training in the tribal regions of Pakistan. The Taliban in Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing, saying it was planned to avenge the killing in April of al Qaeda's two top leaders in Iraq as well as U.S. involvement in Muslim countries. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he believed the failed attack was a retaliation for the U.S. targeting Taliban followers."This is a blow back. This is a reaction. This is retaliation," he said. "Let's not be naive. They're not going to sort of sit and welcome you to eliminate them. They're going to fight back. And we have to be ready for this fight." "It is clear that this was a terrorist plot aimed at murdering Americans in one of the busiest places in the country," Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. said at a news conference on Tuesday in Washington. In the wake of Shahzad's arrest aboard an airplane at JFK airport, the Obama administration has changed the procedures for the no-fly list. The changes come following questions about how Shahzad was able to board an Emirates flight bound for Dubai despite being identified as a suspect and added to the no-fly list earlier in the day. A White House official said Emirates seemingly didn't check the new update for Shahzad before he was allowed to purchase a ticket and board the plane. He was captured after a customs agent noticed the name and called the plane back to the gate before takeoff. Source: Mark Mazzetti, Sabrina Tavernise, William K. Rashbaum, and Jack Healy for the New York Times, CNN News, Kevin Hechtkopf for CBS News, and Jeremy Pelofsky and Edith Honan for Reuters

new york city terrorism taliban shah mehmood qureshi faisal shahzad times square car bomb
Proposed mosque location raises questions of religious tolerance

22 Aug 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s readings focus on the worldwide scope of God’s promise of salvation. Religious pluralism and tolerance were challenging notions in biblical times and they remain so today. The controversy over the proposed construction of an Islamic cultural center and mosque near New York’s “Ground Zero” attests to that. The issue had been a local one for some time but gained national prominence in recent weeks when national political figures began weighing in. Republican leaders including Sarah Palin, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R.-Va.), and Newt Gingrich, among others, spoke out against the proposed location of the $100 million Park 51 Islamic Cultural Center. Noting the project developers’ commitment to improving interfaith relations and countering the influence of radical Islam, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg forcefully defended the project and said it stood as a strong statement that the horror of 9/11 had not destroyed New York City’s and the nation’s historical commitment to religious freedom and tolerance. At a White House meal commemorating Ramadan last Friday, President Barack Obama defended the constitutional right of project developers to construct the center near Ground Zero—though the next day he said he had not explicitly endorsed their plan. Many Republicans have called the proposal an affront to the memory of those killed in the 2001 attacks, although a few have warned their colleagues not to turn the issue into a political football. The tone of the Republican opposition to the mosque marks a shift in the party’s posture toward Islam, observers say, from a very public tolerance after Sept. 11 to an openly aired sense of mistrust. This week, former Bush aides were among the very few Republicans siding with Obama. Muslim leaders say, regretfully, that they also see a dramatic change. Republicans have “shifted completely away from the Bush administration line on relations with Islam and they’ve obviously made the political calculation that bashing Islam and Muslims is a winning issue for them,” said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who blamed the “tea party movement [for] liberating the inner bigot in people.” Few religious groups in the U.S. have spoken in support of the proposed Islamic center. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has not taken a position, and according to a spokesperson has no plans to do so. Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley, however, supported the project in a blog post. Commenting on an interviewer’s question, he wrote: “I told her it is a sign of the value we have for freedom in this country, and for religious freedom in particular." Homilists have an opportunity to discuss the issue in the context of this Sunday’s readings. Surely it was not easy for the Jewish people, “God’s chosen people,” to hear the words the prophet Isaiah spoke on behalf of the Lord: “I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory.” Centuries later, Jews may have felt offended to hear Jesus say that “people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” Jesus was calling his people to open their minds and hearts to a wider appreciation for God’s saving power. People outside the original covenant were invited to participate in God’s glory. That is still the case today. Source: Articles by Michelle Boorstein for the Washington Post, Kevin Hechtkopf for CBS News, NBC News, Karen Dewitt for WNED ALBANY, Ben Smith and Maggie Haberman for Politico.com, Margaret Talev for McClatchy Newspapers, CardinalSeanBlog.org, and Daniel Trotta for Reuters

barack obama ground zero park 51 islamic cultural center toleration michael bloomberg ibrahim hooper tea party sean omalley republicans religious freedom new york city mosque
Archbishop: Catholic education of more than parochial interest

26 Sep 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s readings have a lot to say about the responsibility of those with much to share generously for the common good. The Archdiocese of New York is talking in similar terms in a new initiative designed to shore up its struggling network of Catholic elementary schools. In speeches and articles over the last few months, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan has sketched the broad outlines of a plan that includes radically changing the way parochial schools are financed. Each elementary school has until now been financed mainly by members of its local parish. In the proposed reorganization, the cost of educating roughly 56,000 grade school students would be spread among all parishes and all 2.5 million Catholics in the archdiocese. In a column in Catholic New York on September 9, Dolan said that the view that Catholic schools are only the duty of parents who have children attending was “non-Catholic.” “Support of Catholic schools is a duty of the entire church, even if you may not have a child now in one, or belong to parish without one,” he wrote in preparation for the October release of his plan, “Pathway to Excellence.” Dolan cited statistics from the National Catholic Educational Association which tell a sobering tale about Catholic schools in the United States: “From a student enrollment in the mid-1960s of more than 5.2 million in nearly 13,000 elementary and secondary Catholic schools across America, there are now only half as many, with just 7,000 schools and 2.1 million students enrolled.” But in his recent statements the archbishop has made it clear he plans to fight the trend. Parochial schools have been ailing so long that administrators have adopted “a hospice mentality,” he said, as if to say “the best we can do is making their passing comfortable.” To which he added, “Malarkey!” “Everybody [else] has tried something piecemeal,” said Rev. Joseph V. Corpora, an administrator and consultant at the Alliance for Catholic Education, a project at the University of Notre Dame that is developing strategies to save Catholic schools. “But what Archbishop Dolan is talking about goes way beyond that, to something all-encompassing.” Source: Articles by Paul Vitello for the New York Times, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan in America, and Associated Press

timothy dolan joseph corpora pathway to excellence archdiocese of new york parochial schools
Bedbug sightings bug Big Apple sightseers

31 Oct 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The second reading this Sunday cautions early Christians not to be shaken out of their minds suddenly or alarmed by second-hand stories of the Lord’s imminent return. Stories of bedbugs showing up in New York City landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Bloomingdale’s, and Lincoln Center, as well as anecdotal sightings all over town, are scaring away tourists from the Big Apple just as the holiday season approaches. Sightings of the rust-colored bugs, which are about the size of an apple seed, have surged in New York and around the nation in recent years. It is not known what caused their sudden spread, but experts have theorized that an increase in global travel and the banning of certain pesticides may be partly responsible. The discoveries of the pests at high-profile places, or even in public areas, are often not full-blown infestations. Bloomingdale’s reported finding exactly one bug in the famous department store, the Empire State Building had them in the basement, and Lincoln Center’s were in a dressing room. But those reports, along with bedbug discoveries in movie theaters, hotels, and clothing chain stores, are causing skittish travelers to call off trips planned months ago. Officials in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration are concerned about the effect on the city’s image and $30 billion tourism industry. “You don’t want anything that would dissuade people from coming here,” Bloomberg said. “Hopefully these things come and go, and this will go quickly.” City officials and experts say it is difficult to fully measure the problem, partly because of bedbug stigma and the lack of solid data. The Bloomberg administration fielded 537 complaints in fiscal year 2004, while in 2009 there were nearly 11,000. “It’s gone up incredibly. We were completely blindsided by this,” said Jody L. Gangloff-Kaufmann, urban entomologist in the integrated pest management program at Cornell University, speaking of the bedbug infestations. Source: An article by Sara Kugler Frazier for Associated Press

new york michael bloomberg jody l gangloff-kaufmann tourism lincoln center bloomingdale’s empire state building bed bugs
Another year, another conflict over religion

26 Dec 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Religious tensions existed when Jesus first came into the world, and they continue to this day. As another calendar year draws to a close, the Religion Newswriters Association has released its list of top religion stories and newsmakers for 2010. Heading the list this year is the public debate and controversy over a planned Islamic community center and mosque to be built near New York’s Ground Zero. The plan ignited a national debate about religious freedom that kept the story in the forefront of U.S. news for months. Public opinion and outcry over the mosque reached a peak when a pastor of a small Florida church threatened to burn a Qur’an in protest, a planned act of bravado that until the pastor backed down fueled fears of international backlash against the United States. The Islamic center’s leading proponent, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, was voted the 2010 Religion Newsmaker of the Year, topping Pope Benedict XVI, the many faith-based workers helping victims of the Haitian earthquake, and Sarah Palin, who devoted significant portions of her second best-selling book to arguing that candidates for office take a public Christian stand. Source: A press release by Debra L. Mason for Religion Newswriters Association, www.rna.org/news

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Wealthy should pay their fair share, says billionaire Buffet

21 Aug 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Sunday gospel passage relates how Jesus calls Saint Peter the rock upon which he will build the community of believers, entrusting the apostle with the weighty role of leadership in the early church. Billionaire investor Warren Buffet, an influential financial leader and high-profile member of the “mega-rich,” says it is time he and his super-wealthy friends paid their fair share in taxes to help rebuild the national treasury. Buffett said Monday in a New York Times opinion piece that he would immediately raise tax rates on households with taxable income of more than $1 million, and he would add an additional increase for those making $10 million or more. “Our leaders have asked for ‘shared sacrifice,’ ” Buffet wrote. “But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.” "My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress," wrote Buffett, chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway. "It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice." He said Washington legislators "feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species." He also said he has yet to see anyone shy away from investments because of taxes on potential gains, even when rates were much higher in the mid-1970s, -80s and -90s. "People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off," he said. “I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people," Buffet wrote. “They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.” Sources: An article by the Associated Press and an opinion piece by Warren Buffet for the New York Times

taxes wealthy warren buffet mega rich new york times

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