For whom the bell tolls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDV79rCnTd4&feature=plcp Can you finish this: "Every time a bell rings ______." A classic Christmas movie will have one answer, students at the end of recess another...

Africa trip — Educating Burkina children

There's the so-called "school of life." Then there's going to school to maintain your livelihood. It seems most of the African children in Burkina...

Children turn to gold mining after drought leaves few options in Burkina Faso

SEGUENEGA, Burkina Faso — Thirteen-year-old Zale Moumouni has been living 12 kilometers down the road from his village, searching for gold. He spends his...

Arrived in Burkina Faso

I haven't finished processing our visit to Niger, and now I'm sitting in the Palm Beach Hotel lobby in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.There's so much...

A priest in a Muslim country

Yesterday, Catholic Relief Services hosted a reception for us at their Niamey headquarters in Niger. It was a lovely celebration. My favorite part was...

Africa trip — Family moments

  Someone once told me that the Catholic world starts to feel quite small as soon as you meet a person or two. In other...

The marketplace in Niamey

I don't like to bargain. I just want to know a price and make a decision, not play the negotiating game. So, when we...

Africa trip — Random facts

Three planes, two days and too many hours (plus an eight-hour time difference) to calculate, we are here in West Africa. Approaching and landing...

‘Sun’ picks up nine awards from Arizona Newspaper Association

The Catholic Sun took home nine  awards in writing, photography and design during 2012 Arizona Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper and Excellence in Advertising contests....

In West Africa with Catholic Relief Services

Last night's dinner, in many ways, helped me appreciate that I was in Africa. The group we're traveling with, John Feister of St. Anthony...