1. Pennsylvania lawmakers move to help older kids in foster care make the transition out successfully

2. The world definitely could use more reflective tweeting and politics and living:

I just want folks to pause and think about the message this sends to children who are alive today, in foster care, about their lives and value. Don't tell me you care for the outcast, those without privilege, the vulnerable, and then tweet something like this. https://t.co/SM1axOKAxi — Michael Wear (@MichaelRWear) May 15, 2019

3.

#Breaking: U.S. fertility rate falls to record low. New @CDCgov out today: "The total fertility rate declined 2% to 1,728.0 births per 1,000 women in 2018, another record low for the nation." https://t.co/kGesa4VbvI pic.twitter.com/RdnG5oGoNm — W Bradford Wilcox (@WilcoxNMP) May 15, 2019

4. A new book on our “throwaway culture”



5. The Little Sisters of the Poor will be back in court next week. (Yes, this is still going on . . . )


6. A Fr. Richard John Neuhaus quote I happened upon which sounds as wise today as ever: “What is called the culture war is not simply about this or that question disputed in the public square. It is most basically about the narrative of who we are.”

7. A reflection on Palestinians and Israelis from Robert Nicholson at the Philos Project.

8. The Catholic University of America hosted a day between bishops and sex-abuse survivors. “I hope this becomes a model for others to consider, so as to encourage healing, reconciliation, justice, and mercy,” Bishop Shawn McKnight of the Diocese of Jefferson City said.

9. California confession bill won’t stop abuse, but threatens religious liberty, critics say

And Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles on the same.

10.

Mattie Stepanek is more of a "Champion for Change" than anyone else I have ever interviewed. He was one of a kind in a world of copies. His legacy is growing and it should. This story will move all who see it. pic.twitter.com/6VYE8SdEy0 — Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) May 15, 2019

11. Ghana’s 100-year-old imam goes to church to promote “love, peace and forgiveness”


12. An interview with an adult (who is a priest) who was adopted as a child who believes he “hit the jackpot” when adoption became part of his story.

13. About priests (481) being ordained in the U.S. this year

14. On Dan Philpott’s (from Notre Dame) new book on religious freedom and Islam

15. The Power Of Caregiving In The Workplace No One Talks About

16. Banning books in prison

17. Also from my alma mater, The Catholic University of America, is honoring longtime Catholic journalist Russell Shaw at commencement this weekend. The ceremony is highlighting lay people and consecrated life, too (namely the Sisters of Life).

18.

In other words, sublimation of the religious instinct often results in tackiness: https://t.co/KPABUbaTTy via @voxdotcom — Sr. Theresa Aletheia (@pursuedbytruth) May 14, 2019

19. Exorcist says beware temptation.

20. An interview with comedian Tim Conway, who has died. R.I.P.