Kathleen O'Brien
Kathleen O'Brien is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Kathleen O'Brien
Suicide rates higher among baby boomer men, study finds
By Kathleen O'Brien — August 20, 2014
(RNS) Among the reasons for the higher rates of suicide: Boomer men are more likely to be living alone than previous men their age. And they are less religious.
Obamacare religious exemption hard to get
By Kathleen O'Brien — April 28, 2014
(RNS) Nestled in the fine print of the Affordable Care Act is a clause that allows people of certain religions to seek an exemption from the requirement to carry health insurance. But It’s not enough to disapprove of the law.
Historic New Jersey church struggles to repair hurricane damage
By Kathleen O'Brien — October 24, 2013
The church that now houses La Senda Antigua, an independent congregation, has been in Belleville in some form or another since 1697. It even played a role in the American Revolution.
COMMENTARY: Why do condolence notes never get easier to write?
By Kathleen O'Brien — June 7, 2013
(RNS) For some odd reason, it is human nature to want to provide the magic words that will do the trick. Often, however, those are the very words that end up failing.
Muslims Carry Liquid Memento Home from Mecca
By Kathleen O'Brien — January 19, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It makes perfect sense to carry water to the desert. But why would anyone take the trouble to bring some back? If it is “zamzam” water, the answer is 1,400 years old: Muslims returning from the Hajj pilgrimage value it as a liquid memento from the holy city of […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: Muslims to Pope: Do as We Say, Not as We Do
By Kathleen O'Brien — November 30, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Pope Benedict XVI is in the midst of a four-day trip to Turkey, and adherents to the religion of peace _ as Islam is sometimes called _ are being watched carefully. Carefully enough, most would hope, that the pope will survive all four of his days in a country […]
COMMENTARY: What Do We Tell the Kids?
By Kathleen O'Brien — November 4, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Not all children are created equal. That is the lesson of the recent ruling on gay marriage in which the New Jersey Supreme Court followed the bumper-sticker motto of “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” It got out of the way _ but not before it pointed […]
COMMENTARY: What Do We Tell the Kids?
By Kathleen O'Brien — November 4, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Not all children are created equal. That is the lesson of the recent ruling on gay marriage in which the New Jersey Supreme Court followed the bumper-sticker motto of “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” It got out of the way _ but not before it pointed […]
COMMENTARY: What Do We Tell the Kids?
By Kathleen O'Brien — November 4, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Not all children are created equal. That is the lesson of the recent ruling on gay marriage in which the New Jersey Supreme Court followed the bumper-sticker motto of “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” It got out of the way _ but not before it pointed […]
COMMENTARY: What Do We Tell the Kids?
By Kathleen O'Brien — November 4, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Not all children are created equal. That is the lesson of the recent ruling on gay marriage in which the New Jersey Supreme Court followed the bumper-sticker motto of “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” It got out of the way _ but not before it pointed […]
New Orleans Church Struggle to Rebuild as Half Remain Closed
By Kathleen O'Brien — November 3, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Having determined years ago that the Constitution isn’t a suicide pact, we’re now having a tiff over whether the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act might be. There’s a school of thought _ I use the term loosely _ out there that would consider the implosion of the United States of […]
COMMENTARY: America Has Recovered From 9/11 All Too Well, With Smugness
By Kathleen O'Brien — August 27, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) If you missed the National Geographic Channel’s presentation of “Inside 9/11,” you missed a chance to clear up any confusion about our enemies and their character. Fortunately, you have a second chance; the program is to air again on Sept. 8. The program _ two segments of two hours […]
NEWS FEATURE: More Workers Using Family Leave to Care for a Parent
By Kathleen O'Brien — May 4, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When doctors told the Young brothers their mother’s emphysema would kill her within a year, each son made a big decision. Rich Young and his wife invited her to come live with them in their Robbinsville, N.J., home. Dennis Young, who lived in Maryland, skipped work nearly every Friday […]
COMMENTARY: Haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Presents
By Kathleen O'Brien — January 1, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service (Kathleen O’Brien is a columnist for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.) UNDATED _ I have a friend who is an important part of my life. We talk several times a week, and I can’t count the number of times she’s bailed me out of problems big and small. My heart […]
COMMENTARY: Hiding what we cannot face
By Kathleen O'Brien — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service (Kathleen O’Brien is a columnist for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.) UNDATED _ There was a gap in the obituaries of Frank Sinatra, a cluster of years glossed over because they were of scant musical interest. They were the years just before his death, when he had been withdrawn from […]
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