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So smart — and so good-looking! Thanks to all our guests!

Pope Francis’ Christmas message

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R58Ao0toK-I

Gift from the sea

I found this on a Christmas morning walk with hubby along the shore at Hammonasset State Park in Madison, CT. It was only after I got home and was poking through my collection of shells, pebbles and glass that I noticed one of them carried a bit of profound wisdom!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy 2015.

…

But before I go: have you made your tax-deductible pledge at http://www.wesufm.org? If you give even a small amount and mention “Reasonably Catholic: Keeping the Faith,” I’ll send you a spiritually-themed book as a thank-you gift!

Wishing you all the gifts of the Christmas season throughout 2015!

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Holy Cross College Prof. Mat Schmalz unpacks Pope Francis’ involvement in the recent U.S.-Cuba thaw. The bottom line? This pope is hard to say no to.

Author and journalist Ann Carey, who’s written widely on the vicissitudes of American nuns and sisters, explains last week’s Vatican report about them — which may or may not be the Vatican report on U.S. religious women you were expecting — and which takes a markedly kinder, gentler tone toward them. Our interview with her — and her article here in The Catholic World Report  — lays out the whole shebang clearly:

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/3573/vatican_report_on_us_sisters_largely_positive_but_concerns_remain.aspx

Because you’ve been good, here’s a little sugarplum for you:

Pope Francis, At Christmas Gathering, Blasts Vatican’s Bureaucrats

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/12/22/372459862/pope-francis-at-christmas-gathering-blasts-vaticans-bureaucrats

Ain’t too proud to beg: please support WESU during our winter pledge drive. Go to www.wesufm.org. There’s just a little time left and there’s a matching grant in play. Don’t forget to say you like Reasonably Catholic: Keeping the Faith!

In this second half of a series, Attorney Brian E. Moran, author of The Justice Imperative: How Hyperincarceration Has Hijacked the American Dream, lays out the problem of our bloated correctional system and offers practical solutions toward cutting the prison population in half in five years — a compassionate approach that he says would not only help non-violent criminals succeed when they are ultimately  released into society, but would improve public safety.

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Dr. Michael Brothers of Middletown (CT) Veterinary Hospital with a plaque in his office that spells out what we all — Pope Francis included — know is true.

Cynthia Cloney is on a mission to improve life for inmates at correctional institutions: Part I of a two-part episode on over-incarceration.

Click below to hear the episode