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Zen master tells curious to embrace a new faithRIDGEWOOD - The two-hour lecture at the Old Paramus Church Education Center began with several minutes of silent meditation.  And for many who attended, participating in meditation was a first step in understanding the basic teachings of Buddhism and Eastern philosophy.  "All attempts at mutual education are important to help us grow," said Robert Kennedy, the noted Jesuit priest and Zen master. "It widens our vision."Kennedy Roshi, as he is known to Buddhists, was the key speaker at Saturday's event, which was attended by more than 100 people of varied faiths. It...

Are Jesus and Buddha Brothers?"When you are a truly happy Christian, you are also a Buddhist. And vice versa." So concludes best-selling author and Buddhist monk Thich Hhat Hanh near the end of his popular book Living Buddha, Living Christ. Some Catholics agree. For example, Jesuit Father Robert E. Kennedy, a Roshi (Zen master), holds Zen retreats at Morning Star Zendo in Jersey City. He states on his web site: "I ask students to trust themselves and to develop their own self-reliance through the practice of Zen." The St. Francis Chapel at Santa Clara University hosts the weekly practice of...

On Wednesday, January 9th, pro-abortion Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama addressed a large crowd at Saint Peter’s College, a Jesuit Catholic institution in Jersey City, N.J., generating considerable media attention to his campaign.“It’s irresponsible for a Catholic college and its leadership to host a political rally for an aggressively pro-abortion candidate,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society. “Such events curry public attention at the expense of public morality. In so doing, they demonstrate reckless disregard for the most vulnerable human lives and contribute to the general decline of Catholic higher education.”The president of Saint Peter’s College, Dr....

Amid the jokes, carol-singing, small talk and turkey on Friday at the annual staff Christmas party for St. Peter's College stood the affable host, the Rev. James N. Loughran, president of the school since 1995. "He looked so good, was so energetic," said Eugene Cornacchia, provost of the Jersey City school. "There wasn't a sign of anything." Yet later that evening, or the next day, the Rev. Loughran, 66, apparently fell down the stairs at his house and died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck. He was found Sunday, Christmas Eve morning, after friends had worried because...