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Pope Francis

Pope Francis opens a major Vatican summit pleading for a church where ‘each person feels welcomed’

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. / October 17, 2024

Pope Francis on Oct. 2 opened the final session of a closely watched Vatican summit on the future of Catholicism, encouraging participants not to use the monthlong meeting to push individual agendas, but to seek unity in diversity in the church so “each person feels welcomed.”

“Let us be careful not to see our contributions as points to defend at all costs or agendas to be imposed,” Francis said during his homily for the opening Mass of the synod on synodality.

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Letter From Ukraine, August 17, 2024

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. / September 11, 2024

The international religious Dominican order to which the Shem Center Director belongs receives an occasional letter informing its members regarding the brothers and sisters in Ukraine who have chosen to remain with the people during this war-torn time. These first hand accounts add citizen perspectives to the news reports we receive in the media. These members of the Dominican Order of both men and women date from the 13th century, its world wide membership having been formed in its spirit and purpose in very similar ways. We consider ourselves a “family” living within a tradition of many noteworthy theologians, artists, itinerant preachers and those serving God’s people in many different ministries.

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President Joe Biden

“History is in your hands.” — President Joe Biden

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. / August 6, 2024

The Full Transcript of Biden’s Speech on Ending His Run for Re-election, From The New York Times, July 24, 2024

President Biden delivered remarks from the Oval Office on Wednesday on his decision to abandon his bid for re-election. The following is a transcript of his speech, as recorded by The New York Times.

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The Making of “We Are The World” Documented in “The Greatest Night In Pop”

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. / March 4, 2024

On January 28, 1985, some of America’s top-selling pop musicians including Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Bob Dylan and Ray Charles arrived at the A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood, CA and recorded “USA For Africa – We Are The World.”

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We Have Family in Ukraine

Letter From Ukraine, February 20, 2024

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. / February 29, 2024

After the morning Mass, I asked the Missionaries of Charity Sisters how they look at the future. “I was thinking about that a couple of times,” said Sister Immaculata. “But the only response that comes to mind is to trust God every day and do what we can. Love Him and love our neighbor. And live. He knows best what is awaiting us and what is good for us.”

We’ve reached the second anniversary of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, although perhaps it would be more correct for me to write that it is the tenth year of war. Everything started in 2014 with the Russian occupation of Crimea and the fighting in the Donbas. A couple of months earlier, the Revolution of Dignity had begun, which saw President Viktor Yanukovych removed from office. Millions of Ukrainians had gathered for demonstrations to show that they wanted to bind their future with the free and democratic Europe.

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Bob Sima

Bob Sima Music — Healing Hearts through Healing Arts

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. / November 27, 2023

Bob Sima (pronounced sEYE-ma) is to music what Wayne Dyer, Don Miguel Ruiz, and Eckhart Tolle are to books and Rumi, Hafiz, and David Whyte are to poetry. He is an award-winning singer-songwriter, spiritual teacher, and musical mystic who has been called Eckhart Tolle with a guitar. With no musical training, he has creatively channeled award winning albums and built a national following. The music that comes through him will vibrate with your spirit exactly where you are. 

He is a troubadour, a way-shower, a guide, an awakener, and a musical mystic through the medium of melody. His music bridges daily life and soul consciousness, the eternal with the now through instantly accessible songs that take up residence and resonance in your soul.

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We Have Family in Ukraine

Letter From Ukraine, November 13, 2023

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. / November 20, 2023

When I wrote my previous letter from Ukraine at the beginning of August, no one expected that the world would soon be watching with surprise and pain the events of another war. This time, war in the territory of the state of Israel in the Gaza Strip. The media bore the information about thousands of dead and wounded civilians, including women and children, along with the drama of kidnapped hostages. The horror of the military conflict is repeating itself before our eyes in such a short amount of time. The war in Ukraine that’s been dragging on month after month is no longer an interesting subject for many around the world, and news from the Dnipro River rarely appears on the front pages of the world’s media. Even in Ukraine you can pick up on a certain level of exhaustion, sometimes accompanied by irritation and anger. But despite 627 long days of war drama, I still cannot detect any attitude of resignation, apathy, or surrender — maybe because we’re all aware that the stakes in this war are very high, and its conclusion will shape the future of the Ukrainian nation.

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Fr. Brian John Zuelke, O.P.

Fr. Brian John Zuelke, O.P. combines sacred texts and popular music in ÆTERNUM

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. / November 7, 2023

ÆTERNUM is a nomadic experimental music project organized by Fr. Brian John Zuelke, O.P., a Dominican priest friar of the Province of St. Albert the Great. With a Minnesota-grown group of musicians, ÆTERNUM hopes to slowly build up a collection of excellent mash-ups between sacred texts and popular music forms.

ÆTERNUM began as a nagging dream of Fr. Brian’s while in formation to be a religious priest in Saint Louis, MO. Ideas would come to his mind overlaying sounds of his past love of loud, beautiful rock music with his later love of the sacred music traditions of medieval Christianity. But what to do about it?

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Israel-Hamas War

Official Statement of the Parliament of the World’s Religions on the Israel-Hamas War

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. / October 21, 2023

The Board of Trustees of the Parliament of the World’s Religions—after much thought, prayer and heartfelt deliberation, realizing the complex and critical situation at hand—issues the following non-unanimous statement:

In the midst of the Israel-Hamas War, the Parliament of the World’s Religions prays for those suffering. We acknowledge the right of a people to self-defense within the bounds of international law and call for the release of all hostages and the cessation of hostilities. We call for the norms of international humanitarian law to be respected by all parties as they seek to resolve this escalating war through peaceful dialogue and negotiation.

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Khizr Khan

Khizr Khan comes forward to say Trump is incapable of leading the US again

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. / October 6, 2023

Khizr Khan said about Trump, “A person who has never sacrificed is incapable of love: love of country, love of purpose, love of fellow human beings. Trump is nothing but appetite and ego. Trump is incapable of leading the U.S. again. I wish to pay tribute to General John Francis Kelly and his family. General Kelly is a gold star father as well. We stand with you and are saddened to hear the remarks that Trump made in the White House and after his presidency.”

Khizr Khah is a gold star father, having lost his son Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan in 2004. Humayun was a United States Army officer who was killed by a suicide attack near Baqubah, Iraq during the Iraq War. He came to national attention in the United States during the 2016 presidential campaign as an example of a Muslim American soldier who died in service to the U.S. military.

Watch his interview on MSNBC.

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2022 American Digital Design Awards