Stella Maris

It could happen this year.

The tuition at DePaul University is now $24,300, or $97,200 for four years. Anybody think that's really worth it? Even the public colleges are extremely expensive. Even Michigan State is expensive.

According to a news story: "Ten percent owe up to $9,999, 21 percent owe $10,000-$19,999, 15 percent owe $20,000-$29,999, and 8 percent owe $30,000 and up. This indebtedness, according to the university, does not include any private loans taken out by students."

I think most high school students should not go to college and instead learn a trade. Electricians, plumbing, car repair, and construction are great examples of good-paying jobs you can learn without acquiring $30,000 in debt.

And even the white collar jobs, how many years do you really need to go to college to sell insurance at State Farm, learn graphic or web design or to be a manager at Entreprise Rental?

College is a rip off.

Five alumni of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula were ordained to the priesthood this year, bringing the total number of alumni priests to 47.

Students for Life of America held a poll on the presidential race and it got mentioned by the USA Today. Here's the story in LifeNews.com. (Full disclosure: I served as Chairman of SFLA for four years and currently serve on the Board of Directors.)

Well, Birmingham, Alabama, has a new bishop. It has been vacant longer than any diocese in the country. And for good reason. EWTN is a global Catholic communications company. He took great care in thinking of this appointment.

The new bishop is Robert Baker, Bishop of Charleston. And it looks like a great choice. To read all about this important appointment, read Whispers in the Loggia.

According to a release: The For Your Marriage Web site includes resources for everyone, including engaged and married couples, and facts about Catholic marriage. The Web site is designed for a wide and varied audience and is part of larger campaign, which includes television public service messages, which can be viewed on the site. In just one month, the site has received nearly 500,000 hits with the average visitor viewing 6-12 pages.

The site offers daily marriage tips that suggest simple ways to cultivate a healthy marriage. A link on the home page also gives couples a tool to find Catholic marriage information locally. A monthly marriage quiz can serve as a conversation starter on sensitive issues.

Information on conflict resolution, communication, and financial concerns is posted throughout the Web site. Topics such as intimacy and parenting also are featured. Visitors also can view stories and advice from married couples.

"The Internet has become a crucial means for evangelizing, especially among younger people," said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, Chairman of the Bishops' Marriage and Family Life Committee. "We hope youth especially will find inspiration and hope at the stroke of a key."

The Russian Orthodox patriarch is signaling that he might be open to a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. He turned down Benedict's first invite, but now appears warm to a meeting. This is a great development. Read more.

Not that I'm a saint, but I can tell you that I don't have to worry about having too much money!

Anyway, the Pope said that wealth could hamper salvation. Read the story.

And if you have too much money and are worried about your salvation, you could always donate to the Marian Center…

Lori and I are in agreement that breastfeeding is the best idea for feeding infants. However, we are not zealots about it. If after trying very hard, our baby rejects breastfeeding, then we switch to bottle.

Yet when people see us feeding Annie from a bottle, some people lose their breath.

"Don't you know that breastfeeding is better? That's what all the doctors say!"

We first wonder why this is their business. We also wish that people would not assume that feeding formula is a sign of bad parenting. It's not like we're letting her drink Jack Daniels. It's formula. It's perfectly healthy.

But we politely tell them that we are fully aware that 'breast is best', but that little Annie rejected breastfeeding. After all, she spent the first week in intensive care and couldn't breastfeed at all.

There's a hilarious article about all this that you really have to read. It's published by National Review Online. Enjoy.

I called it "Tom Monaghan's Law School" for a reason. I don't think it's fair to call it Ave Maria School of Law anymore.

Law professor Steve Safranek, father of 7, was the man who had the idea of Ave Maria Law. He drew up the plans, got other professors on board, and presented the idea to Tom Monaghan.

Now Tom is moving the law school down to Florida and he has fired Steve Safranek.

To mediate the differences, Notre Dame law professor Charlie Rice wrote the following letter. You can tell that Charlie Rice is deeply worried over Ave Maria Tom Monaghan's Law School.