LEXINGTON, Ky. — For the first time in eight decades, fewer than 50% of Americans say they belong to a church, synagogue or mosque amid an ongoing steep decline in religious attendance, according to a new biannual Gallup poll.
This is the weekend that Christians around the globe celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. It recalls a weekend two millennia ago when the followers of the rabbi from Nazareth were sheltering in place fearing for their lives. Behind closed doors, the 11 were devastated that their 12th man had…
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis urged priests to be humble like Jesus as he began three busy days leading to Easter — all scaled down because of the coronavirus pandemic — with a Holy Thursday Mass.
WENATCHEE — Nick’s Bricks, the annual Lego event at Pybus Public Market, returns this spring and will look a little different than past years.
Dear Mr. Dad: Of all the non-material things parents can give to their children, what do you think is the most important?
DULUTH, Minn. — Sometime last spring, feeling distressed and distracted by all that was going on in the world, the Rev. Mike Schmitz turned to the Bible.
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s directive banning the blessing of same-sex unions has sparked defiance among some priests in Europe and left bishops perplexed on how to minister to gay Catholics.
Q: My 5-year-old continues to throw tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. His father and I are divorced. I have primary custody. He is with his dad every other weekend, basically. My ex has very poor emotional control and I’m concerned that our son may have inherited that from him. When he t…
The Chinese character for the word “crisis” is actually the linkage of two Chinese characters. One character signifies “danger” and the other that indicates “opportunity.” Living through the past year of a crisis known as COVID, I experienced the reality of that play on words quite literally…
PHILADELPHIA – On the worst day of Vito Baldini’s life, after scuffling on the streets of Philadelphia with drug addictions that were pushing him toward the grave, he was spotted outside a ShopRite by an old friend’s mother.
Q: After being cooped up for months, my family would like to take a trip for spring break. Is it safe?
Q: Is there anything that can help my son, who complains that his eyes hurt after a long day of virtual learning?
“If you touch these kids, I will blow your head off.” So were the words of my mother as she spoke to the new neighbor across the street.
Q. I am very close to my adult children — and their father, as well. He and I settled our issues long ago which made co-parenting easy and co-grandparenting lovely. My ex-boyfriend didn’t get it, kept away from my children and got very short whenever I spoke to their father. It made holidays…
Q. I do not get along with my husband’s ex-wife. We share the kids 50/50 and it seems like she is always around. I know it’s wrong to say, but I resent having to deal with her. What happened to the days when an ex was an ex? This is not what I signed up for. What’s good ex-etiquette?
ROME — Sister Nathalie Becquart, 52, who Pope Francis appointed last week to a key Vatican post, is an accomplished seafarer who loves using nautical images to illustrate her views of life, faith and the role of women in the Roman Catholic Church.
Q: In a recent column, you described our 5-year-old daughter. She is in bed at 6:30 in the evening but usually wakes up during the night and wants to talk to us about whatever is on her mind. We both work and need our sleep, so that’s a huge problem. She very energetic and emotional during t…
Have you ever heard the term “Godwink?” Several years ago I was given a book titled “Divine Alignments: How Godwink Moments Guide Your Journey.”
While on a brief stay in Seattle, I was asked by my mother to clean out my father’s garage after we moved him to assisted living for dementia care. After Dad’s move, Mom stayed away from the garage for three months. My father’s sanctuary was too painful for her to face alone. “Just leave me …
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, its effects on our everyday lives feel never-ending. As parents, we want to provide our children with a sense of consistency and normalcy in the middle of a time filled with uncertainty, fear and change — not an easy task to accomplish.
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis told President Joe Biden on Wednesday that he was praying that God would guide his efforts to bring reconciliation in the United States, while the head of the nation’s Catholic bishops condemned Biden’s pro-choice stand on abortion.
Once a year, for the past decade, I have given the invocation in our state Senate or House of Representatives in Olympia. The closest I’ve ever come to offering a prayer over a president took place when our family lived in the Land of Lincoln. To my delight, I was invited to give the opening…
Q. I have a real problem with my bonus daughter’s lying. I overhear her telling her mother how she wants to go home when she is with us, but her father won’t let her. She never tells us she wants to go home. On the contrary, she tells us how much she loves being with us. I think she’s playin…
Children observe and know their parents more so than parents analyze their child. That’s the way it is due to the positional power difference. When a person has more control, the figure with less autonomy can’t help but scrutinize who is dominant.
Setting new, personal goals might be the last thing a kid wants to think about as the winter weather begins the transition to spring, but learning to set goals at a young age is a worthwhile effort.
Q: My son is playing a lot of video games during the pandemic. Should I be worried?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the first time in American history, a woman will serve as House chaplain.
One of the loudest arguments for sending kids back inside their classrooms despite a raging pandemic is the toll that e-learning is taking on their mental health.
Do all your chats back home to Mom these days start, “You’re on mute. The button’s lower left”? Or have you at least once in the last nine months asked Gramps if you could FaceTime the back of his TV set as a way of helping him find the strange beast known as an HDMI port? If so, you’re not …
Q: How can I cheer up my kids, who are sad we can’t do some of our normal holiday activities?
“Put your hands in the air and yell ‘Whee!’ You’d pay $30 to take this ride at Disneyland!” the flight attendant said, as they tried to lessen our anxiety and make the turbulence fun!
PHILADELPHIA — Former Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said late last week that President-elect Joe Biden should be banned from receiving Communion because of his support for abortion rights, fueling an ongoing debate among Catholic leaders in the United States over how to relate to th…
While clearing out and boxing up my parents’ home recently, I discovered a few items I didn’t know existed. In the bottom of a cedar chest, I found the infant blanket in which I was brought home from the hospital 68 years ago.
Nothing prepares a mother for departure from the hospital after having her first child. All of the Dr. Spock books and material from other parenting experts slips out of your brain once you're smacked in the face by the welcome fresh air.
Q: We have a 10-year-old daughter who runs our family. We allowed her to begin dictating to us when she began talking and it’s just gone slowly downhill ever since. She manipulates us with shrieking tantrums, disrespect and downright refusal to do what we tell her to do. We must have done so…
Are you juggling work and taking care of your elderly parents? Maybe on top of this, you’re also raising kids or dealing with a spouse who is ill.
“Pass the yams! And pass the turkey!
Q. My ex's husband just reached out to invite me to join them for Thanksgiving dinner. We have been divorced for six years and have had our ups and downs. It's mostly up now. They have been married for three and a half years and have recently added a baby. The kids are with them this year, t…
Thanksgiving Day is typically reserved for giving thanks for family, friends and the previous year. While the coronavirus pandemic has made it more difficult to find much to be thankful for from the last few months, moments to express gratitude can still be found.
Election Day has come and gone. And while some outcomes are yet to be determined, one thing is certain: No matter the winner, the “stuff” of daily life continues to confront us. You’ve experienced that and so have I.
LOS ANGELES — There was no question that my dad's side of the family would celebrate the 98th birthday of our matriarch, Angelita Arellano, which happened earlier this month.
About 30 seconds into the best song you probably never heard, the tears began to flow. I can’t make it through Radney Foster’s gorgeous “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)” without crying. I hadn’t thought about the song in a few years.
