Editor’s Note: This is part of a series profiling great American Catholics ahead of the July 4, 2026, celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. (OSV News)–In many ways, Father Michael J. McGivney was just one more of that band of hardworking Irish American priests who spent themselves building up the church in America in the latter years of the 19th century. But in one truly extraordinary respect, he was unique: Before he was 30, Father McGivney had founded what was to become the largest Catholic men’s organization in the world: the Knights of...
ATLANTA–As the United States marks its 250th anniversary this year, the U.S. bishops plan to consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during their June spring assembly. Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., has announced that the diocesan consecration for the Archdiocese of Atlanta will be at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, June 12 at 7 p.m. Due to limited space at the basilica, the archbishop encourages pastors and chaplains to celebrate the consecration at their local parish churches and chapels. The basilica is at 353 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta. The...
The price of gold is about $1,000 off of its all-time high, which was reached in January. That gives investors who are bullish an opportunity to get in before it climbs again and makes a new high. There are lots of ways to own gold. You could buy physical gold like bars or coins, but then you have to keep it somewhere. Coins are a little easier to store if you have a bank vault, though you have to pay for it every year. A home safe would probably do the job as long as it can’t be moved or broken into. Bars are a little tougher to store. If you have a meaningful amount, then you need a sizable...
VATICAN CITY (OSV News)–Pope Leo XIV met the leadership of Catholic Charities USA in an audience at the Vatican on May 4, offering words of encouragement to one of the country’s largest disaster relief networks as it navigates growing demand for food and basic services to aid the poor in the United States. Kerry Alys Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, spoke after the papal audience about Catholic Charities’ Gospel-driven mission, its emergency food response amid disruptions to federal food stamp programs, and the new “People of Hope” initiative currently traveling the...
ATLANTA—Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv. of Atlanta, Bishop Stephen D. Parkes of Savannah and Atlanta’s auxiliary bishops—Bishop Joel M. Konzen, SM., Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III and Bishop John N. Tran—are urging Catholics to be more engaged in political life. As early voting in the primary for the 2026 midterm elections began, Georgia’s bishops released a statement May 5 to promote mindful participation in the political process. In the message, the bishops remind all that the November election will shape Georgia’s future for years to come. “Our participation in political life...
The archdiocesan Office of Archives and Records recently completed a major milestone of a project years in the making. Beginning in 2019, we have worked toward digitizing all issues of The Georgia Bulletin and making them accessible online. The latest issues that needed digitizing were completed in 2025 and put online earlier this year. The digitized issues run from the first one published in 1963 until August 2003, when the changing nature of publishing meant subsequent issues were born digital and did not need a digitized copy of the printed paper. ...
Chances are you didn’t notice that asset managers spent the majority of last year trading below the broader market. Truth be told, it’s not a very exciting industry. It rarely makes the headlines. But that’s where true value may rest its head. Fee pressure, passive flows, and doubts about older franchises were the go-to reasons for the underperformance. Even the firms that still produced strong cash were priced as if their best days were over. Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN), known to clients as Franklin Templeton, has been one of the more resilient names in the sector. It manages $1.7...
Editor’s Note: As the Iran War drags on – and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed – the entire global supply chain has been thrown into chaos. Oil and gas prices have skyrocketed, and the flow of critical resources and consumer goods has been brought to a standstill. But according to our friend Jim Rickards – a world-renowned resource expert and a former advisor to the Pentagon and the White House – this supply chain bottleneck could present a unique opportunity for those who understand what’s actually going on. In fact, he’s just revealed one of his favorite resource stocks right now, 100%...
She is dressed in a dark suit with a cluster of white orchids on the lapel. Next to her stands a chubby little girl, smiling shyly in a crispy first Communion dress. Yes, the girl in the photo is me, and the beautiful lady in the suit is my beloved mom, Grace, who died 50 years ago. As Mother’s Day approaches, I imagine my mom coming to visit me from Heaven. I see her sitting in the dining room, young and beautiful, wearing that same suit and the spray of orchids. In the kitchen, I am whipping up a batch of pancakes and brewing a big pot of coffee. I ask how this visit is possible, and...
Editor’s Note: “Sent to Serve: Profiles of religious life in Atlanta” is a regular series of The Georgia Bulletin and looks at the charisms and work of the religious order priests and sisters serving in the archdiocese. KENNESAW—Sister Maria Fidelis Gray, OP, was in second grade when she knew she wanted to be like her teacher, Sister Mary Immaculate. Now, she’s living her calling to be a Catholic sister and teacher with her own second-grade students at St. Catherine of Siena School in Kennesaw. Sister Maria Fidelis is one of three sisters from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia...
RACINE, Wis.—Sister Joan McCann, OP, died April 9 at the Racine Dominican Motherhouse, Siena Center, Racine, Wisconsin. Sister Joan served in the Archdiocese of Atlanta in several roles. She was 85 years old. Sister Joan McCann, OP Born on Aug. 16, 1940, to Cecilia (Rowley) and Robert McCann in Chicago, Joan McCann professed vows with the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa in 1961 and received the religious name Sister Ternan. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Edgewood College, Madison, Wisconsin; a Master of Education in the teaching of mathematics from Northeastern...
ATLANTA—Sister Norma Pimentel, MJ, found herself crying as hundreds of detained immigrant youngsters pressed in on her, grasping her dress. “Those big eyes, they were just looking, and they were all gray,” said Sister Norma. “Their hair was gray. Their skin was gray. Their clothing was gray from the mud when they crossed the (Rio Grande). And they were all crying.” A judge had given her access to the overflowing detention center filled with young people, but she had to persuade law enforcement officials to allow her into a cell to pray. Together, she led the youngsters jammed into the...
Rithm Capital (NYSE: RITM) is a mortgage REIT that sports a generous 10% yield. Will that dividend eventually turn into a sour note, or can it continue to make sweet, sweet music for investors? Rithm Capital invests in a variety of loans, including residential mortgages, commercial loans, and consumer loans. The measure of cash flow that we use for mortgage REITs and other lenders is net interest income. It’s safe to say Rithm’s net interest income has not been in rhythm. It’s been all over the place. Net interest income plummeted to $115 million in 2024 from $255 million the year prior. It...
Bishop John N. Tran Every so often, someone asks me what I enjoy most about serving as a bishop. I usually answer: the privilege of administering the sacrament of confirmation in parishes and on college campuses. This April alone, I have the joy of celebrating 11 confirmation Masses. Before each one, I meet with the candidates to thank them for that privilege. As you may recall, confirmation—together with baptism and the Eucharist—constitutes the “sacraments of Christian initiation” and completes baptismal grace. Through confirmation, we are more perfectly bound to the Church and...
There are a lot of fundamental reasons to be bullish about gold right now. Perhaps the most common reason is that the world is a tumultuous place and gold has endured as a store of value over the millennia. More recently, central banks have been snapping up gold. Though Turkey has been selling gold because it needs dollars, China remains a big buyer, having added gold to its reserves every month for 17 months. The dollar remains weak and is likely to stay that way with a Fed chairman who will be looking to cut rates. (A weak dollar is typically bullish for gold.) But what are the markets...
(OSV News)–Following a gunman’s attempted assault on the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, forcing the evacuation of the president, first lady and members of the Cabinet, the head of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference denounced the violence and called for all to resort to prayer. “We are grateful the lives of the President, those who protect him, and everyone in attendance last night were spared from serious harm,” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement April 26. “Let us all pray for our...
Editor’s Note: Our friend Karim Rahemtulla, one of the co-founders of Monument Traders Alliance, is a true market veteran. He has more than 30 years of experience in options trading and international markets, and he is the author of the bestselling book Where in the World Should I Invest? Below, he explains why investing based on policy decisions can be a grave mistake. He also published a helpful new training a few days ago titled “ 80% of Traders Lose – Here’s How You Flip the Odds .” I learned a ton from it – check it out here. – James Ogletree, Senior Managing Editor Three months ago the...
The defense sector is being repriced – and it’s not just about the war in Iran. Allied budgets keep climbing across Europe and Asia. The Department of War is rewriting how it buys from its largest contractors. The market has reacted unevenly to all of it: Prime contractors get bid up on demand, sold off on execution risk, then bid up again on the next headline. We evaluated one of them, Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), last month. (Find out its score here.) Today, we’re looking at arguably its top competitor: Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). The company operates through four segments – Aeronautics,...
There’s a lot of fear in the business development company, or BDC, world right now due to concerns over private credit. BDCs typically lend money to private companies. Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE: SCM) is a BDC with more than $10 billion in invested capital across over 100 active investments. It lends between $20 million and $100 million to private companies that generate between $5 million and $50 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) in a wide variety of industries. Its portfolio includes… Multiple loans to CARS Protection Plus, which...
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (OSV News)–Pope Leo XIV arrived April 21 in Equatorial Guinea, the fourth and final country of his 11-day apostolic journey in Africa, where the pope met the country’s longtime ruler and urged the country’s civil authorities to choose justice over power, quoting St. Augustine’s “City of God.” The pope flew northwest from Luanda, Angola, crossing central Africa before landing on the island of Malabo, which served as the country’s capital until January. Crowds lined the streets from the airport to the presidential palace, waving Vatican flags and cheering as Pope Leo...
Editor’s Note: This is part of a 12-part series profiling great American Catholics ahead of the July 4, 2026, celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. (OSV News)–Flannery O’Connor was not an evangelist. She was an artist, one of the most gifted American fiction writers of the 20th century. But a profoundly Catholic theological vision informs her art, giving her stories resonance and depth that sound deep–and sometimes deeply disturbing–spiritual chords. Explaining why she often wrote about grotesque characters in bizarre situations, O’Connor...
A Note From Chief Income Strategist Marc Lichtenfeld: I’ve known Keith Kaplan, the CEO of TradeSmith, for a long time. He’s a fun guy with a great sense of humor, but he doesn’t suffer fools. He doesn’t waste his time or anyone else’s. So when he reaches out to me and says, “Marc, you should really take a look at this,” I stop what I’m doing and dig into what he sent me. And my reaction is usually, “Dang, I wish he’d sent this sooner.” That’s why we wanted to send this to you right away: so you have the chance to see TradeSmith’s new AI as it’s rolled out. Tomorrow morning, during a special...
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum