There were two very interesting stories about universities in the U.S. that caught my attention. The first is about the ongoing debate over illegal immigration. At a recent conference, Sister Diane Kennedy, vice president for mission and ministry at Dominican University, proudly described 17 of Dominican’s students. Of the 17, several have achieved high academic honors, Kennedy said. And two, so far, have been arrested by immigration officials and spent time in jail. All 17 students are undocumented immigrants, and the college is spending $274,000 of its own money to help them pay tuition. At a session of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, Kennedy and other Catholic leaders urged other colleges to follow Dominican’s example. Catholic colleges and the Catholic church, led by Cardinal Roger Mahony, who retired as archbishop of Los Angeles in 2011, are quietly stepping up efforts to enroll and assist students whose parents came to the United States illegally. In recent months, Mahony has held meetings with college leaders and students to find other ways to engage institutions on the issue. The church is planning to distribute several versions of an immigration curriculum, so that colleges can cover the issue from a Catholic perspective in a wide range of classes. In remarks to a small group of college presidents and vice presidents, Mahony cast advocacy for immigrants as part of the heritage of Catholic colleges and a core expression of Catholic values. This issue is so easily demonized. Politicians looking for votes very often describe the worst types of illegal immigrants, the folks who truly have evil in their heart and are coming over the border to cause trouble. This story points out that there are two sides to this issue. The second story is about the change in leadership at some of our Catholic colleges. The Loyola Marymount University Board of Trustees appointed David W. Burcham as the president of the university after a nationwide search. Burcham, who currently serves as the university's interim president and is a 1984 graduate of Loyola Law School, will be the first lay president in the university's 99-year history. Burcham's association with LMU began in 1981. He graduated first in his class from Loyola Law School and, after seven years in public and private practice, he returned to the law school and teaching. He was appointed senior vice president and dean of the law school in 2000, and served in that capacity until 2008 when he was named LMU's executive vice president and provost. In 2010, Burcham took over leadership of the university when Robert B. Lawton, S.J. resigned for health reasons. "We respect the process, procedures and the integrity of the Search Committee and their extraordinary efforts to find applicants, including Jesuit applicants," said both Archbishop of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony and Coadjutor Archbishop José Gomez. "We support the steps taken by the Board of Trustees and we look forward to working with David Burcham." "We set a very high bar for what we wanted and expected in our next president, including academic excellence, executive leadership, fundraising experience and furtherance of our Jesuit, Marymount and Catholic traditions," said vice chair of the LMU Board of Trustees and chair of the Presidential Search Committee, Kathleen Aikenhead. "Dave Burcham already has proved himself." The bar apparently did not include requiring that the leader of a Catholic university be a practicing Catholic. Really? Is that the best they can do? It is obvious that they are very sensitive about this hire. Just look at the number of folks who are trying to validate the "process." I for one am praying that Mr. Burcham is successful. Maybe someone will invite him to go through the RCIA process. By the way, what is the difference between Jesuit, Marymount, and Catholic traditions?

Natalie Grants sings in her song Your Great Name, "Every fear; has no place; at the sound of your great name. The enemy; he has to leave; at the sound of your great name." Have you ever invoke the name of God to protect yourself from evil? Many of us begin to pray when we are fearful. Often it is the only time we may pray. We ask God for protection and to save us. Do we really understand what we are asking for from the Lord? Hearing that the enemy must flee when we call on the Lord is a powerful thought. The mere mention of our God's name can bring evil to a halt. She goes on to sing, "sick are healed; and the dead are raised; at the sound of your great name." We know this is true because of our faith but we also have historical proof in the person of Jesus. When Christ lived on earth, he healed many who were sick and he raised some from the dead. It illustrates how powerful our God is. But is that really the message? I think Natalie is telling us to turn our lives over to Christ. She is reassuring us, as she knows through her relationship with Jesus, that He will take care of everything in our lives. The burdens of life are heavy and many people falter each day because of the weight. Jesus lightens the load. Calling out the great name is all that is required to be graced with a life that is more bearable. Call out that great name. Use the name of God for good. So many people use God's name in vain but Natalie tells us that "all the weak; find their strength; at the sound of your great name." Can it really be that simple? Did Jesus come to earth to create a complex religion that requires massive amounts of study to comprehend? I think not. He does want us to be contemplative and to read the Bible but, as Natalie puts it so beautifully, He urges you to say His name. Call on Him by name. Exalt His name.

A poll taken for the Knights of Columbus and Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., indicates a strong majority of Americans continue to want restrictions on abortion. According to the poll, 79 percent of those surveyed said they would not allow abortion after the first three months of pregnancy. And 51 percent said they would allow abortion only in cases of rape, incest or to save the mother's life -- or not at all. The poll's numbers are almost unchanged from a similar poll taken two years ago. The survey responses were released in Washington on January 23, the date of this year's March for Life. According to the poll results, 84 percent said they believe that laws can protect both the life of the unborn and the health and well-being of women. This is up from 81 percent from the 2010 survey. "Almost four decades after the Supreme Court's decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which resulted in the almost totally unrestricted abortion regime of today, these decisions continue to be out of step with the vast majority of Americans," said Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus. "Far from being settled law, the inadequacy of the court's reasoning on abortion in Roe and Doe is readily apparent to most Americans. Once a survey moves beyond the labels of pro-life and pro-choice, we see a fundamental unity among Americans in favor of significant abortion restrictions," Anderson said.

Father Julian Carron, the Spanish priest who leads the ecclesial Communion and Liberation movement, has one piece of advice for Catholics in this 21st-century world. Accepting the mystery that is Christ, he explained, will to help shape and guide one's life and bring about new relationships and a new understanding of what it means to live life fully. It's a simple premise, he said, but one he knows that people have difficulty accepting or understanding. "(If) we have met Christ, this introduces something new in our life," he told Catholic News Service prior to his presentation at The Catholic University of America. "In the way we're dealing with everything, we can convey that there is another way in dealing with everything." Father Carron, who has led Communion and Liberation since 2005 after the death of the movement's founder, Father Luigi Giussani, said people often seek complex answers to help face the difficulties posed by everyday life. Christ can, he said, "make everything different. Christianity for us is the most interesting that happens in our life," he said. "We don't want to lose this treasure that we have met." Father Carron, 61, first became aware of Communion and Liberation after serving as a priest for years after his 1975 ordination. He taught, researched and wrote in various academic settings in Jerusalem, Washington and Madrid and along the way discovered the movement. In 2004, he was invited to move to Milan, Italy, by Father Giussani to share the responsibility of leading the movement. Prior to his discovery, he explained, emptiness still existed in his heart despite serving the church. That changed when he began to understand what Communion and Liberation espoused to people from all walks of life.

Texas (and U.S.) Catholics had plenty to celebrate after a ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. After months of litigation, a three-judge panel brushed off a challenge to Texas's sonogram law that Governor Rick Perry championed and paved the way for leaders to start enforcing the policy. Writing for the group, Chief Judge Edith Jones was frank about the other side's failure "to demonstrate constitutional flaws with the law," which requires women to have a sonogram 24 hours before an abortion. The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) also picked a fight over the second part of the law, which orders doctors to explain where the baby is in its development before their patients consent to an abortion. CRR fought to keep women in the dark, arguing that it somehow violates a doctor's free speech rights to give patients the medical facts about their pregnancies. Like most people, the justices dismissed that logic completely, noting that the law only asks doctors to provide "truthful, non-misleading information"--an apparent rarity in the abortion industry, since Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said that asking people to be honest about the procedure sets "an abhorrent precedent." Her organization recognizes that the biggest weapon in the abortion debate is the ultrasound machine. For thousands of women, this window into the womb is the only persuasion they need to reconsider abortion. And, as Richards's group has proved, pro-abortion activists will do everything in their power to stop mothers from recognizing the personhood of their unborn babies. As Judge Jones said, the state has "legitimate interests in protecting the potential life within her." "Denying her up-to-date medical information," Jones wrote, "is more of an abuse to her ability to decide than providing the information." This is a country where Americans can't even play paintball without signing a paper acknowledging the risks. How does it possibly make sense to let women undergo a major surgical procedure without giving them all the facts? Perry is grateful that the state can move forward in helping women understand "the devastating impact of such a life-ending decision." State Senator Dan Patrick (R) also cheered the verdict. "...[O]ur goal from the beginning was to protect the woman's right to know, protect the unborn, and protect the constitution." While CRR has not decided whether or not to appeal to the full Circuit Court, Judge Jones hinted that the chance of success would be slim, since "the parties who sued have not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits." The media may be calling it a victory for pro-lifers, but in this case, women and their babies are the real winners. While Texans still have the right to "choose," at least they'll finally know what they're choosing.

According to a Reuters report, Pope Benedict said Monday that gay marriage was one of several threats to the traditional family that undermined "the future of humanity itself." The pope made some of his strongest comments against gay marriage in a new year address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican in which he touched on some economic and social issues facing the world today. He told diplomats from nearly 180 countries that the education of children needed proper "settings" and that "pride of place goes to the family, based on the marriage of a man and a woman. This is not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society. Consequently, policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself," he said. The Vatican and Catholic officials around the world have protested against moves to legalize gay marriage in Europe and other developed parts of the world. One leading opponent of gay marriage in the United States is New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, whom the pope will elevate to cardinal next month. Dolan fought against gay marriage before it became legal in New York state last June, and in September he sent a letter to President Barack Obama criticizing his administration's decision not to support a federal ban on gay marriage. In that letter Dolan, who holds the powerful post of president of the U.S. Bishops Conference, said such a policy could "precipitate a national conflict between church and state of enormous proportions." The Roman Catholic Church, which has some 1.3 billion members worldwide, teaches that while homosexual tendencies are not sinful, homosexual acts are, and that children should grow up in a traditional family with a mother and a father. "The family unit is fundamental for the educational process and for the development both of individuals and states; hence there is a need for policies which promote the family and aid social cohesion and dialogue," Benedict told the diplomats. Gay marriage is legal in a number of European countries, including Spain and the Netherlands. Some Churches that have allowed gay marriage, women priests, gay clergy and gay bishops have been losing members to Catholicism, and the Vatican has taken steps to facilitate their conversion.

Changing the world means that we must take a positive step each and every day. We cannot relent. We cannot rest. We must prevail. God provides us the perfect road map in the Bible so don't tell me that you don't know how to do this. Go to your Bible and begin to read. Let it rest in your heart. Let it echo in your mind. Immerse yourself in the words. When you are finished reading, put it down, close your eyes and listen to God. He will talk to you but you have to be still and listen. Block out the white noise of the world and listen to your Father God. There is no one like our God. Don't even try to put human qualities on Him. Don't think that He reacts like your spouse, brother, cousin, friend, co-worker. God is not a person. God is not like us but we should want to be like Him. He is so loving and He forgives us over and over again. He has an abundant love that is consoling and healing. He is! When you are feeling hurt, shout His name. When you are feeling happy, shout His name. When you are sad, depressed, mad, shout His name. When you are gleeful, satisfied, peaceful, shout His name. Be in conversation with your Father God. He longs to hear from you. He wants to talk with you. He is so proud of you. God created us and he thinks we are His beautiful creation. That is important to remember when someone tries to tell you otherwise. Use this fact when you hear someone trying to impose their negativity on their fellow man, woman, girl or boy. That is the positive step I am trying to take each day. I am trying to stem the tide on negative, hurtful comments. I am trying to stand in the gap when someone tries to bring another person down through hurtful comments or even "joking" remarks. It is my one small step. I will take it every day, God willing. By the way, I wanted to recommend a book. If you are a young adult or have a special teen in your life, I highly recommend you give them a copy of the book Youcat. Start your walk now!

The Houston priest appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to lead what amounts to a nationwide diocese for Anglican converts to Catholicism said Monday that the new Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter represents a momentous step toward healing the rift between the Vatican and the Anglican church. "For, perhaps, the first time since the Reformation in the 16th century, a corporate structure has been given to assist those who in conscience seek to return to the fold of St. Peter and his successors," said the Rev. Jeffrey Neil Steenson, a married former Episcopal priest and father of three. The pope named Steenson to head the ordinariate, which is the first of its kind in the United States. It will be based in Houston at Our Lady of Walsingham, a Catholic Anglican-use parish established in 1984 that serves about 300 local families. Steenson asked for prayers for him and for those who become members of the ordinariate. "There is so much to learn, and it is a steep learning curve," he said. "Be patient with us as we embark on this journey. Pray that we may strive to learn the faith, laws and culture of the Catholic Church with humility and good cheer. But pray, too, that we do not forget who we are and where we have come from, for we have been formed in the beautiful and noble Anglican tradition." The ordinariate will keep Anglican liturgical traditions in music, structure and prayers, but will be fully Catholic, Steenson said. Parishes will use both the Roman Missal and the Vatican-approved Book of Divine Worship, which uses Anglican prayers adapted to reflect Catholic beliefs. So far, more than 100 Anglican priests have applied to become Catholic priests for the ordinate. About 1,400 individuals in 22 Anglican communities also have expressed interest, according to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Although headquartered in Houston, the ordinariate will include former Anglican groups and individuals from all over the country. Steenson said Houston is an ideal base for two reasons: First, the existence of a vibrant church, Our Lady of Walsingham, that could serve as the principal church for the ordinariate; and second, the handy resource of St. Mary's Seminary in Houston, where former Anglican clergy train to become Catholic priests. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, said he did not expect a flood of new converts, but he had spoken to the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, to let him know about the new ordinariate. "I think he's hoping for mutual courtesy and kindness," DiNardo said. "There probably might be a few people who are worried that we might be trying to draw people away, but no, we're there for people who are already interested." Doyle said in a statement that he and DiNardo have an open and healthy friendship, and both recognize that they have former members and clergy worshiping and serving in each other's churches. "We are glad to welcome Romans and members of other denominations into the Episcopal Church just as the Roman church may do so today," Doyle said. "The most important thing is that I want people to have a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ, in whatever denomination they choose to worship. For me, I am unabashedly Episcopalian and I love my Church." Steenson was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1980. He served as rector of churches in Philadelphia and Fort Worth, and canon to the ordinary for the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, N.M., before being elected bishop of that diocese. The Episcopal Church is the part of the worldwide Anglican communion. Steenson, who grew up on a farm in Hillsboro, N.D., studied at Trinity College near Chicago, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, Harvard Divinity School and Oxford University in England. He converted to Catholicism in 2007, troubled by what he described as "very difficult conversations in the Episcopal church" about blessings for same-sex unions. "It wasn't the question itself, but how the question got answered in the context of the church" that bothered him, Steenson said. "It brought to mind one of the basic differences between our two ecclesiastical traditions: How do we solve problems when they come up?" Steenson thought the church should not function as a democracy and that putting a complicated and challenging theological question to a vote was not Catholic. "It's a good thing we don't put these questions to vote because every age has its own shibboleths, and the great thing about the Catholic Church is that it takes the long view," he said. Steenson has served as a Catholic priest in Houston since 2009. He teaches at the University of St. Thomas and St. Mary's Seminary, where he helped establish a program for other Anglican priests applying for the Catholic priesthood. Steenson and his wife, Debra, have been married since 1974, and have three adult children. Former Anglican priests, bishops or deacons may remain married when they become ordained Catholic priests. Non-married clergy must remain celibate, however, and non-celibate priests cannot become bishops. Steenson said Monday that he never dreamed the pope would tap him for such a high-profile job. "I assumed I'd be a simple parish priest somewhere," he said.