Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Seasons of Grace

Home
Catholic
COUNTDOWN: My Top Ten Catholic News Stories from 2014

COUNTDOWN: My Top Ten Catholic News Stories from 2014

Last updated on: December 29, 2014 at 11:14 am by Kathy Schiffer

COUNTDOWN: My Top Ten Catholic News Stories from 2014 2014-12-29T11:14:03-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

In a few hours, 2014 will be a happy memory and we’ll be jotting down our New Years Resolutions for 2015.

I’m not going to tell you that I’m always right–that I always report on the biggest and best Catholic stories on the Internet.

What I will say, though, is that I covered a lot of news–and looking back, I can see which of my reports my readers liked the best. So just in case you missed it, here’s my “TOP TEN” COUNTDOWN of the biggest stories to appear on Seasons of Grace during 2014:

#10: SWEDISH MEGACHURCH PASTOR CONVERTED TO CATHOLICISM.

A Swedish megachurch pastor converted to Catholicism, and I told the story on Seasons of Grace. If you missed it, you’ll want to know what prompted Ulf Ekman, pastor of the largest megachurch in Sweden, and his wife Birgitta to cross the Tiber and convert to Roman Catholicism.

#9: NEW YORK TIMES PUBLISHED A FULL-PAGE ANTI-CATHOLIC AD.

The New York Times published a full-page anti-Catholic ad. The ad, from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, touted Margaret Sanger’s support for birth control and insisted “Dogma should not trump our civil liberties.” They seemed to think that the “all-male, all-Roman Catholic majority” on the Supreme Court was the source of their trouble. They didn’t say anything about the rights of those who were murdered in the womb.

#8: ARCHBISHOP CORDILEONE RESPONDS TO NANCY PELOSI AND OTHER CRITICS OF THE “MARCH FOR MARRIAGE”

Nancy Pelosi demanded that Archbishop Cordileone withdraw from the March for Marriage–and oh my gosh, she actually thought he would? Instead, he stood firm and issued a public statement. I reported on it in “Archbishop Cordileone Responds to Nancy Pelosi and Other Critics of the ‘March for Marriage'”.

#7: BRITTANY MAYNARD WANTS TO LIVE!

Oh, how I hate to be wrong! For a day, it seemed that Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old cancer sufferer who won the right to take her own life, would decide instead to live as long as God permitted. I shared my hope in Brittany Maynard Wants to Live! Let’s Help Her to Live Well. Alas, Brittany committed suicide shortly thereafter. We were all disappointed, but we joined in prayer for her eternal soul.

#6: POPE FRANCIS SENDS A PENTECOSTAL CONFERENCE “TEARS OF LOVE, SPIRITUAL HUGS”

Could you have imagined that unity could seem so possible? Pope Francis addressed a Pentecostal conference here in the U.S., sending “tears of love, spiritual hugs.” It was an ecumenical moment to remember, and of the 28,000 readers, nearly 11,000 shared that post.

#5: ARCHBISHOP AYMOND’S BOYCOTT: “WE CANNOT COOPERATE WITH EVIL.”

An American bishop launched an anti-abortion protest of businesses which help in construction of a proposed new Planned Parenthood facility, and you wanted to know more about it. I told that story in Archbishop Aymond’s Boycott: “We Cannot Cooperate With Evil.”

#4: ASSOCIATED PRESS APOLOGIZED FOR ITS COVERAGE OF THE IRISH ORPHANAGE STORY

Were 800 babies really “dumped into a septic tank”? When the Associated Press apologized for its coverage of the Irish orphanage story, the news reached around the world. Obviously, everyone wanted to know more about the news agency’s errant reporting; that article was shared nearly 14,000 times.

#3: BISHOP TONY PALMER, POPE FRANCIS’ FRIEND, DIES IN A MOTORCYCLE CRASH

I hated to be the bearer of bad news, but I had to report when Bishop Tony Palmer, Pope Francis’ friend, died in a motorcycle crash. Bishop Palmer had been such a force for unity–carrying a personal message from Pope Francis to Kenneth Copeland’s Pentecostal conference.

#2: MAMMA MIA! NUN SCORES A HIT ON ITALY’S “THE VOICE”

You remember Sister Cristina Scuccia, the 25-year-old Ursuline Sister of the Holy Family who catapulted to international fame after winning a vocal competition on an Italian television show. Sister Cristina won hearts (and shocked the judges) with her rendition of Alicia Keys’ “No One.” I told her story in MAMMA MIA! Nun Scores a Hit on Italy’s “The Voice.”

And the TOP-RANKED STORY for all of 2014:

#1: HEAVEN IS FOR REAL: SECRETS COLTON BURPO DIDN’T TELL YOU IN THE BOOK OR THE MOVIE

The most popular post of 2014–which has been read by more than 230,000 readers to date and shared more than 131,000 times–was HEAVEN IS FOR REAL: Secrets Colton Burpo Didn’t Tell You in the Book or the Movie. I suppose the title sounds like something from the National Enquirer, but it’s actually an honest report of my interview with the young man whose near-death experience was recounted in the movie Heaven Is For Real. I found the Burpo family–Colton and his parents, Todd and Sonja–to be warm, honest and faithful Christians. Oh, and Colton has quite a musical talent!

Happy New Year, everyone! With joyful confidence, let us look forward to God’s grace and His miracles in 2015.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 29, 2014

The Metaphor of the Immovable Ladder

Next Post

December 29, 2014 Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook in Fatal Hit-and-Run in Baltimore

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which mountain did this Abraham's near-sacrifice event occur on?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Mount Carmel Mount Sinai Mount Moriah Mount Ararat