Happy St. Nicholas Day. Did you know that throughout history, St. Nicholas has had his image reproduced in pictures and other art forms more than any other saint, excepting the Blessed Virgin Mary?
St. Nicholas of Bari is the patron saint of Russia and patron of children, and as Bishop of Myra, he began a custom of giving money and gifts to those most in need, often without the recipient knowing where the gifts had come from. It is from St. Nicholas that we get the word Santa Claus.
Many legends surround this saint who died in 342, one of which is that he brought three children back to life.
Baby Jesus Stolen Again
For a second time in five years the statue of the baby Jesus was stolen from the Nativity scene in Daley Center Plaza, but this time the statue was recovered very quickly, and the thief arrested. The image will be placed in the Manger Tuesday noon, Dec. 7. The Nativity set is put up by the Nativity Scene Committee each year.
The thief, Matthew Staib, said he didn’t intend to harm the statue, and took it because he was bored. Staib is a student of the School of The Art Institute of Chicago. Incidentally, students of the School of the Art Institute have counter-protested several League events this year.
Nativity scenes have been targets for vandalism for years. This same statue was removed by vandals in 1999 and recovered after several days in a locker at the bus station.
Bus Driver Fired for Telling the Truth
Speaking of buses, an elementary school bus driver was fired recently in Buffalo, NY for telling some students that research has shown that embryonic stem cell research has not produced a single human cure in the 23 years it has been available. The truth can hurt.
Dennis Byrne Tells the Truth Too
Dennis Byrne went one further in a Chicago Tribune story Monday where he says stem cells from umbilical cord blood has been highly successful, while so far embryonic stem cells have produced nothing. He says the success stories stemming from use of adult stem cells get little media coverage.
Byrne, who isn’t above the use of sarcasm, says the Bush bashers and conservative bashers want to use embryonic stem cells and will not report the many successes being brought about with adult stem cells.
In fact (Byrne says) adult and cord stem cells hold as much if not more promise as the embryonic types. For years, it has been used to treat leukemia. The good news about adult and cord stem cell advances flows so steadily it’s hard to imagine how a journalist with any news judgment could ignore it.
But they do, except for honest journalists like Dennis Byrne. Thanks, Dennis.
“Most Important Work on Earth”
Bob Cetrulo of Northern Kentucky Right to Life is sometimes chided for spending so much of his free time working for pro-life, and that there are other more important issues he should be involved in.
Bob has printed up a card with a photograph taken of Pope John Paul II and Fr. Paul Marx, OSB, founder of Human Life International, with a quote the Pope is making to Fr. Marx in the 1979 meeting: “You are doing the most important work on earth.” Bob says this usually ends their complaining.
