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Father Dennis Cooney has earned a reputation as one of the most gifted preacher-teachers in the Legatus family. The former Oblate has served as the Naples Chapter’s chaplain for the past two years. He serves as pastor at St. Raphael Parish in Lehigh Acres, Fla., and as the Respect Life department moderator for the Diocese of Venice. Ordained in 1974, Fr. Cooney is a noted speaker at gatherings across the state of Florida, plus a much-sought-after spiritual director for staff and students at Ave Maria University.

Medical information abounds on the Internet. Just type the word “cancer” into a search engine and you’ll have millions of sites to choose from. Deciding which information to trust isn’t easy or quick even for the savviest web surfers. Sometimes the information is just what was needed, but more often your search will end in frustration.

Two things about my fellow Legates continue to impress me. First, Legates are models of faith in their personal lives. Second, their example to family, friends, employees, business associates and the community has never been of greater value than it is today.

Carl Fredricksen (Asner) is 78 years old. As a child, Carl met and eventually married a girl named Ellie. She always dreamed of exploring the mountains, but she died before she got a chance. When developers threaten to move him into an assisted living home, Carl decides to fulfill his promise to Ellie.

Based on the true story of inventor Robert Kearns, this is the tale of a man whose fight for recognition comes at a heavy price. Set in 1960s Detroit, Kearns invents the intermittent windshield wiper only to have the idea stolen by Ford.

Winner of this year’s Oscar for Best Animated Feature, WALL•E was nominated for five others. You’ll love this cosmic comedy about a determined robot named WALL•E. After hundreds of lonely years compacting trash, WALL•E discovers a new purpose when he meets a robot named EVE.

If you’re fed up with Washington boondoggles and you like small-government, politically-incorrect thinking, then you’ll love Meltdown. In clear, no-nonsense terms, Woods explains what led to this economic crisis.

The second in The Quest of Dan Clay trilogy is worth the wait. Good Catholic fiction is hard to find, so we heartily recommend this one. Dan and his companions are plagued with unsettling questions whose answers will require a deeper infiltration into the secret recesses of a centuries-old castle.

Pope John Paul II became known as the Mercy Pope for his encyclical on God’s mercy, forgiving his would-be assassin, canonizing St. Faustina and establishing Divine Mercy Sunday. Now, four years into his papacy, Pope Benedict XVI has become known as a Pope of Mercy in his own right.

In his 2007 encyclical Spe Salvi, the Holy Father articulates the true nature of Christian mission: to change hearts and minds in order to change society. The Gospel message is not simply a comforting story intended to put us at ease, but a consuming fire that can transform and purify our souls and the soul of our nation. In order for this transformation to take place, however, the Gospel must be truly lived.

Has anyone ever told you that the Catholic Church does not teach that the human soul is infused into the body at conception? Would you be shocked to learn that this is pretty much true? The Church holds that a “human being” begins at conception, but you will not find any official Vatican statement asserting that there is a “human person” at conception.

This column continues its look at four questions from the forthcoming Catechism for Business (see September 2008 column). We focus here on life issues, covering four relevant questions.

Abortion is always considered evil, sinful and immoral because it is the deliberate and intentional killing of an innocent human life.

Recent gaffes by RNC chairman Michael Steele and former Democratic President Bill Clinton have left a lot of pro-lifers (and others) scratching their heads. We are right to expect our elected officials to have all the facts — especially on the life issues — before making decisions and public statements that affect millions of lives.

Father Dennis Cooney has earned a reputation as one of the most gifted preacher-teachers in the Legatus family. The former Oblate has served as the Naples Chapter’s chaplain for the past two years. He serves as pastor at St. Raphael Parish in Lehigh Acres, Fla., and as the Respect Life department moderator for the Diocese of Venice. Ordained in 1974, Fr. Cooney is a noted speaker at gatherings across the state of Florida, plus a much-sought-after spiritual director for staff and students at Ave Maria University.

Two things about my fellow Legates continue to impress me. First, Legates are models of faith in their personal lives. Second, their example to family, friends, employees, business associates and the community has never been of greater value than it is today.