In a recent Rolling Stone magazine interview with Brian Hiatt, U2’s Bono says that the song “Magnificent” is inspired by the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“All music for me is worship of one kind or another,” says Bono.

The song appears on the band’s new album, “No Line on the Horizon.”

“Magnificent was inspired by the Magnificat, a passage from the Gospel of Luke in the voice of the Virgin Mary that was previously set to music by Bach,” says Bono. “There’s this theme running through the album of surrender and devotion and all the things I find really difficult.” 

The lyrics include: “Magnificent, Magnificent, I was born, I was born to be with you in this space and time. I was born, I was...READ MORE

This morning I attended the St. Paul Cathedral funeral Mass for Father Tim Vakoc, the Army chaplain who was severely injured in Iraq five years ago, in St. Paul, Minn.

In attendance were two bishops, another bishop-to-be, at least a hundred priests, military personnel and hundreds of family, friends and others.

The Gospel reading was the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. In answer to the question of where was God five years ago, the homilist, Father Stan Mader, a seminary classmate of Father Vakoc’s, said, “Jesus wept. But then he turned to his Father, had Lazarus unbound, and then let him go.”

Father Mader urged those in attendance to let Father Tim go “from the bed that had...READ MORE

CNN is reporting that Catholic actress and model Farrah Fawcett died this morning at the age of 62.

Several media previously reported that a priest had been called to Fawcett’s bedside at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., to administer the last rites. Fawcett was first diagnosed with cancer in 2006.

A 1970s’ television actress and pin-up icon, in recent years Fawcett said that she derived strength from her faith. She attended a Catholic elementary school and attended St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, with her family. She had reportedly received visits from her local ordinary and some religious sisters during her convalescence.

Her cancer journey was...READ MORE

The elderly or homebound who enjoy watching a local Catholic Mass on PBS in cities such as Washington, D.C., New Orleans or Denver may soon have to look elsewhere.

The U.S. Public Broadcasting Service, which consists of 354 member TV stations, is banning all new religious programming.

According to Zenit, the decision was made at last week’s board meeting at PBS’ East Coast headquarters in Arlington, Va. The board decided to enforce a ban on its member stations, with the threat of having their network affiliation revoked in case of noncompliance.

The stations receive much of their content from independent producers and sources outside the broadcasting service, including Catholic dioceses...READ MORE

It’s not often that a work of art has an eternal impact, but three years after the world first heard about the motion picture Bella, when it won the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award, the film is continuing to change and save the lives of others.

At least 70 babies’ lives have been saved by the film. It gives new meaning to the Jewish expression: “If you’ve saved one life, you’ve saved the world entire.”

Within the first year after its release in the fall of 2007, the filmmakers were aware of at least 15 babies who had been threatened by abortion, whose mothers decided for life after seeing the movie. Now, through the efforts of Bella Hero and Bella on Campus,...READ MORE

Five years after being wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq, Army chaplain Father Tim Vakoc has died.

In a letter to his sister, he said, “The safest place for me to be is in the center of God’s will, and if that is in the line of fire, that is where I will be.”

Register readers will recall getting to know Father Vakoc through previous articles, such as the article that came out just prior to when he was injured, or this one after he was injured, or the article about when he regained his voice.

One of Father Vakoc’s superior officers commented on his dedication and noted that he was injured while returning from serving soldiers out in the field.

“The fact that he was returning from...READ MORE

In the wake of the University of Notre Dame scandal and the Cardinal Newman Society report naming 10 Catholic universities that actually promote abortion by recommending student internships at pro-abortion organizations, comes the story that Catholic college leaders are lobbying the U.S. bishops to withdraw their 2004 policy banning pro-abortion speakers.

In the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities’ summer 2009 newsletter, it’s reported that association’s board of directors concluded that it would be desirable for the policy “Catholics in Political Life” to be withdrawn. The ACCU made its recommendation during its June 11-12 board of director’s meeting at the University of San...READ MORE

As the Year of St. Paul draws to a close, the Vatican has designated the Cathedral of St. Paul, in St. Paul, Minn., as the nation’s first national shrine in honor of the apostle Paul.

The distinction was granted by the Office of the Holy See and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, following a request by St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt. It is Minnesota’s first national shrine.

According to canon (Church) law, “The term shrine signifies a church or other sacred place to which the faithful make pilgrimages for a particular pious reason with the approval of the local ordinary (bishop).”

Even prior to the designation, the cathedral received upwards of 200,000...READ MORE