• Helping the LAPD deal with deaths — Part I
    June 19, 2014  |  Around the ADLA  |  No Comment

    he spring has been deadly for the Los Angeles Police Department. In just over two months, four officers died in horrendous traffic collisions. Another died from an apparent heart attack.

    —Officer Nicholas Lee died on March 7 when an out-of-control dump truck coming down Loma Vista Drive in Beverly Hills smashed into his patrol car. The 40-year-old’s partner in the black-and-white was also injured.

  • In Glendale: An outreach to refugees fleeing persecution
    June 19, 2014  |  Around the ADLA  |  No Comment

    “Gemma” and her husband, Armenian Apostolic Christians, fled religious persecution in their native Iran by paying smugglers to take them to Turkey. From there, they proceeded on to Bosnia and finally arrived in Austria, their last stop before being interviewed and accepted as refugees to the United States in 2000.

  • Jersey Vargas stays the course for immigration reform
    June 18, 2014  |  The Latest  |  No Comment

    For 10-year-old Jersey Vargas, her four siblings and her parents, Teodula and Mario — a humble immigrant family living in the Los Angeles area — the last three months have been a blur, from Jersey’s rare opportunity to meet Pope Francis, to Mario’s long-awaited release from an ICE detention center, to the whirlwind of media attention that followed their heartfelt family reunion.

  • At St. Anthony’s: Fun, faith, fellowship and football
    June 18, 2014  |  Around the ADLA  |  No Comment

    Few of them expected a victory — at least, not on the field, where their beloved Croatian national soccer team was playing hometown favorite Brazil in the opening match of the World Cup soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro.

  • Children’s right to a quality education fuels ruling on teacher tenure: Guest commentary
    June 18, 2014  |  In The News  |  No Comment

    As chair of the California Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Education, I am greatly encouraged by the June 10 ruling of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu. In his decision, Judge Treu found that the teacher tenure system and employment practices in California are both unconstitutional and discriminatory against students in schools serving lower-income communities.

  • St. John Bosco’s Matt Katnik: Champion on and off the field
    June 12, 2014  |  The Latest  |  No Comment

    Matthew Katnik’s approach to athletic competition and life might be exemplied in his experience at the Mount San Antonio College meet earlier this year.

    The top-ranked junior shot-putter in the U.S., Katnik was battling the state’s top shot putter, Dotun Ogundeji from Madison, San Diego, who led by an inch as Katnik made his last throw — over 67 feet, good enough for first place. But an official ruled a foul, negating the throw.

  • Some prayers and reflections for summer
    June 12, 2014  |  The Latest  |  No Comment

    I’m on my way to New Orleans for the annual Spring meeting of the United States Catholic Bishops. As I travel, I find myself praying and reflecting on the many great things that have been going on here in the Archdiocese in recent weeks.

  • Juvenile Hall Mass: Reiterating the pope’s call for LWOP review
    June 12, 2014  |  Around the ADLA, The Latest  |  No Comment

    Chances are that when at the time this article is being read, a child in the underserved areas of Los Angeles (or in any part of the world) is being victimized by some form of abuse, usually by an adult close to him or her, or is being neglected by his or her parents or guardians.

  • L.A. peace prayer: A gathering of ‘three beautiful faiths’
    June 12, 2014  |  Around the ADLA  |  No Comment

    Two days before Pope Francis’ prayer gathering at the Vatican, representatives of Catholic, Jewish and Muslim leadership in Southern California united for “Prayers for Peace in the Holy Land,” a private prayer service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

  • Campeones sin cancha
    June 12, 2014  |  In The News  |  No Comment

    Al calor de un partido de futbol en la primaria católica Santo Toribio alguien patea con fuerza el balón y lo manda a los autos que circulan en la avenida Central. Pudo ser peor: a un costado hay rollos de filosos alambres de púas y el juego habría terminado de inmediato.