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Commentary: The Ideal of Pope Francis: the Servant Church(Thursday, May. 23) “When the Church becomes closed up on itself it gets sick.” With that single sentence, uttered during a prayer vigil before Pentecost, Pope Francis summed up the most important theme of |
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Interreligious dialogue center hosts conference on ‘image of the other’(Thursday, May. 23) The King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), an organization established by Austria, Saudi Arabia, and Spain and named after Saudi |
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For 2nd time, Missouri Benedictine nuns have top classical album(Thursday, May. 23) “Angels and Saints at Ephesus,” a new album released by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, has debuted at the top position on the Billboard traditional classical albums chart. “Advent |
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Court strikes down Arizona law against late-term abortions(Thursday, May. 23) The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an Arizona law banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy is unconstitutional. In August, the court had blocked enforcement of the law. “We |
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Protestant pastor arrested in Iran(Thursday, May. 23) Amid intensified persecution of Protestant churches in recent years, authorities in the Iranian capital of Tehran have arrested Rev. Robert Asserian, pastor of the Central Assemblies of God |
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Mideast Christians pray for Syrian bishops’ release a month after abduction(Thursday, May. 23) Christians gathered in the Jordanian capital of Amman to pray for the release of the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo, who were kidnapped one month ago by Syrian rebel |
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Liturgical Calendar: Thursday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time(Thursday, May. 23) Historically today is the feast of St. Julia of Corsica, also known as Saint Julia of Carthage, and more rarely Saint Julia of Nonza, was a virgin martyr. The date of her death is most probably on |
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New Website Review: Accepting the Biblical Jesus(Thursday, May. 23) The website of Norm Carroll and Mary Moran who give retreats and missions on the biblical Christ. This is a website to avoid but also to be aware in the event that these presenters show up at |
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New Website Review: Veritas(Thursday, May. 23) Veritas is an organization of Catholic young adults working in association with existing regional young adult ministries to provide and promote a weekly program of young adult Catechesis, Prayer, |
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Pope praises Missionaries of Charity for making love concrete(Wednesday, May. 22) Pope Francis visited a home run by the Missionaries of Charity on Tuesday evening, offering “a heartfelt thank-you” to the sisters for their service to the poor. The Holy Father visited the Gift |
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Tunisia: feminist arrested for defacing mosque(Wednesday, May. 22) A young woman was arrested in Tunisia on May 19 after she spray-painted the name of a feminist group on the wall of a mosque. Amina Tyler was jailed when she wrote “Femen” on the exterior of a |
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Pope urges Friday prayers for Church in China(Wednesday, May. 22) On May 22, Pope Francis reminded his weekly public audience that the coming Friday, May 24, would be the feast of Our Lady of Sheshan, the day set aside by Pope Benedict XVI for prayer for the |
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Never use faith as a barrier, Pope tells congregation(Wednesday, May. 22) In his homily at a daily Mass on Wednesday, May 22, Pope Francis warned against the impulse to exclude others, citing the words of Jesus that “he that is not against us is for us.” (Mk |
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Vatican’s Financial Information Authority issues report, cites strides toward transparency(Wednesday, May. 22) The Vatican’s Financial Information Authority (FIA) has released its first annual report, documenting the effort to tighten controls on financial transactions and to guard against |
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Holy Spirit powers evangelization, Pope explains at audience(Wednesday, May. 22) “Evangelization is the Church mission,” Pope Francis told his public audience on May 22. “Not just of a few, but my, your, our mission.” In a talk on the working of the Holy Spirit, the Pope said |
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Chicago Jesuit province makes record settlement in abuse lawsuit(Wednesday, May. 22) The Chicago province of the Society of Jesus has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to settle a lawsuit brought by men who were sexually abused by Donald McGuire, a former Jesuit who has been |
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After settling child-porn complaint, Kansas City diocese hit with two more lawsuits(Wednesday, May. 22) Less than a week after the Diocese of Kansas City, Missouri, reached a $600,000 settlement with the family of a girl involved in a child-porn case against a local priest, two other lawsuits have |
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Commentary: The sad decline of self-government(Wednesday, May. 22) When I was very young, sometime in my grammar-school years, I had the habit of going with my father to the annual Town Meeting. I found it fascinating to watch as the people settled the business of |
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Commentary: That impromptu exorcism again(Wednesday, May. 22) Yesterday I remarked on the apparent inability of some Vatican reporters to distinguish between an exorcism and a blessing. Only later did I come across |
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Conference at Vatican Museums recalls attack on Pietà(Wednesday, May. 22) The Vatican Museums hosted a conference on May 21 devoted to the 1972 attack on Michelangelo’s Pietà and the sculpture’s subsequent restoration. On May 21, 1972, a mentally disturbed man |
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Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop Coakley on Oklahoma tornado disaster(Wednesday, May. 22) Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City expressed gratitude for prayers for the archdiocese and disaster victims following the tornadoes that ravaged parts of Oklahoma on May 19 and 20. “Our |
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Vermont legalizes assisted suicide(Wednesday, May. 22) Following votes of 75-65 in the state house and 17-13 in the state senate, Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize assisted suicide. Oregon and Washington legalized the practice by ballot |
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Crowd attacks Pakistani village; 1,500 Christians flee(Wednesday, May. 22) Residents of the Muslim village of Chak 30 attacked the Christian village of Chak 31 in the Pakistani province of Punjab after local Christians were accused of being disrespectful towards Islam. |
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USCCB questions Obama administration’s use of drones(Wednesday, May. 22) The chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has invoked just-war criteria to question the moral legitimacy of the Obama |
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Liturgical Calendar: Optional Memorial of Saint Rita of Cascia, religious(Wednesday, May. 22) After eighteen years of married life, St. Rita lost, by death, her husband and her two sons. Called afterwards to the religious state, she professed the Rule of St. Augustine at Cascia her native |
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New Document: Be Courageous Witnesses of the Gospel(Wednesday, May. 22) Pope Francis dedicated his May 22, 2013, general audience catechesis to the Holy Spirit, without whom, “the Church could not live or carry out the mission that Jesus has entrusted us with, of going |
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New Document: The Church Cannot Be Locked within Itself(Wednesday, May. 22) Here is a translation of the question-and-answer session with Pope Francis held on May 18, 2013, the vigil of Pentecost, with ecclesial movements and communities. After the greeting of the president |
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New Document: The Holy Spirit's Action(Wednesday, May. 22) The action that the Holy Spirit carries out, in guiding the Church and within each of us, was the theme chosen by Pope Francis for his general audience catechesis or May 15, 2013, with Pentecost |
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Commentary: Against a Facile Assurance of Salvation, the Need for Mystery(Tuesday, May. 21) It is likely that too many Catholics think too little about their own salvation, but perhaps not only for the most obvious reason. My own first thought is that such a dearth of due diligence |
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Suicide in Notre Dame cathedral in Paris(Tuesday, May. 21) A French man committed suicide inside Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on May 21. Dominique Venner, a 78-year-old historian and activist with a long history of involvement in traditionalist and |
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Vatican Museum celebrate restoration of Michelangelo's Pieta(Tuesday, May. 21) The Vatican Museums are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the completion of restoration work on Michelangelo’s Pieta. The Pieta, which stands in the nave of St. Peter’s basilica, was badly |
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Papal prayers for Oklahoma tornado victims(Tuesday, May. 21) Pope Francis offered a prayer for tornado victims in Oklahoma at his morning Mass on Tuesday, May 21. “Let us pray for the victims and those who are missing, especially children, affected by the |
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In the Church, power means service, Pope tells Tuesday congregation(Tuesday, May. 21) "The struggle for power in the Church nothing new," Pope Francis told his congregation at a Mass in Domus Sanctae Marthae on May 21, referring to the Gospel account of disputes among the apostles |
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Commentary: Making Sense of Society: The Ebook(Tuesday, May. 21) We've released a new ebook at shop.catholicculture.org. It is a collection of my essays over the past six years on Catholic social teaching and the problems we face in orchestrating the social |
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Newark priest faces charges for violating court order(Tuesday, May. 21) Father Michael Fugee, the priest at the center of a scandal in the Newark, New Jersey archdiocese, faces a series of criminal charges for apparently violating a court order forbidding him from |
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Boston pro-lifers demonstrate against honorary degree for Enda Kenny(Tuesday, May. 21) About 50 people demonstrated outside the grounds of Boston College on May 20 as the Jesuit institution conferred an honorary degree on Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. Boston’s Cardinal Sean |
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Commentary: An exorcism? No, a blessing. You'd think reporters would know the difference.(Tuesday, May. 21) As you watch, a priest places his hands on a man’s head and prays silently for a few seconds. What did you just witness? A blessing, right? That wasn’t a tough question. Pretty basic, |
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Reporters interpret papal blessing as an exorcism(Tuesday, May. 21) The Vatican was forced to deny that Pope Francis had performed an impromptu exorcism on Sunday, after reporters misinterpreted the Pontiff’s blessing of a sick man in St. Peter’s Square. After |
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South African bishops criticize police presence at private wedding(Tuesday, May. 21) The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has criticized “the deployment of the police flying squad and other elements of the security forces” and “the use of an air-force base by a |
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Closure of convents preceded Benghazi parish bombing(Tuesday, May. 21) The forced closure of several convents in eastern Libya preceded the recent bombing a parish there, according to Bishop Giovanni Martinelli, the apostolic vicar of Tripoli. “In Cyrenaica [eastern |
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Patriarch: Islamist regimes ‘even worse’ than authoritarian ones(Tuesday, May. 21) Questioning “the motive and the reasoning” behind support for regime change in Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and Libya, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church said that Islamic fundamentalist regimes are |
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In 2nd message on Edict of Milan, Pope Francis calls for recognition of religious freedom(Tuesday, May. 21) On May 15, Pope Francis sent a telegram to Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew traveled to the Italian city to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of |
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Churches desecrated in Central African Republic; Christians flee to countryside(Tuesday, May. 21) In recent weeks, Islamist rebels who assumed power in the Central African Republic in March have kidnapped the rector of the cathedral in the nation’s capital as well as the archdiocesan |
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Liturgical Calendar: Optional Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs; Optional Memorial of St. Eugene de Mazenod, bishop (Canada)(Tuesday, May. 21) In 1815, St. Eugene de Mazenod founded the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate to evangelize the poorest populations of Provence that were being neglected. He then sent his missionaries |
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Vatican launches news 'app' for smartphones(Monday, May. 20) The Vatican has introduced a ‘app’ for smartphones, providing a free news feed. The new app, called Missio, provides news headlines from Fides, the news service sponsored by the Congregation for |
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Veteran Italian demonstrator climbs out on dome of St. Peter's(Monday, May. 20) An Italian man climbed out onto the dome of St. Peter’s basilica on Monday, May 20, in a dangerous political demonstration. Marcello Di Finizio unfurled a banner protesting new European Union |
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American seminarians defend championship in Roman soccer tourney(Monday, May. 20) A team of American seminarians has won the Clericus Cup, the annual soccer competition among Rome’s seminaries. The “North American Martyrs” took the championship for the 2nd consecutive year |
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Community of St. John acknowledges lapses by founder(Monday, May. 20) The Community of St. John has acknowledged that its founder, Father Marie-Dominique Philippe, had improper relations with women under his spiritual direction. Established by Father Philippe in |
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Croatian activists promote referendum to define marriage as male-female union(Monday, May. 20) Pro-family activists in Croatia have collected well over 200,000 signatures on a petition calling for a referendum to amend the country’s constitution and define marriage as a union between a man |
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Maronite leader raps Lebanese interference in Syrian conflict(Monday, May. 20) Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai has criticized the political leaders of Lebanon in unusually blunt terms, and said that they should address their own nation’s problems rather than “interfere in the |
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Pope urges 'courageous' rather than 'courteous' prayer(Monday, May. 20) Pope Francis recommended “courageous prayer” rather than “prayers of courtesy” in his homily at daily Mass on May 20. Commenting on the day’s Gospel, and the remark of Jesus that some demons can |
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Jesuit superior steps in to head umbrella group for male religious superiors(Monday, May. 20) Father Adolfo Nicolas, the worldwide leader of the Jesuit order, has been named the president of the International Union of Superiors General (USIG), the umbrella group for representatives of men's |
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Italy's top politicians unite against 'homophobia'(Monday, May. 20) Italian President Giorgio Napolitano called for a “firm and constant commitment” to battling prejudice against homosexuals, as Italy observed “Anti-Homopobia Day” on May 17. His statement was echoed |
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Australian archbishop admits predecessors covered up abuse(Monday, May. 20) Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, Australia, has admitted that Church leaders in the past did not respond adequately to sex-abuse complaints. The archbishop told a formal inquiry that “the |
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Catholic church bombed in Benghazi(Monday, May. 20) A Catholic church was bombed in Benghazi, Libya, on May 17. Exploding in the nave of the church shortly before midnight, the bomb shattered several windows in the church itself and the adjacent |
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Pope, Merkel discuss European affairs(Monday, May. 20) Pope Francis met on May 18 with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for a discussion of European political, economic, and especially religious affairs. A brief Vatican statement released after the |
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Egypt's Copts again under attack, but ex-nuncio sees positive strides(Monday, May. 20) Egypt’s Christian minority suffered two more violent assaults during the past week, with bombings at Coptic Orthodox churches in two different towns. A mob of Muslim militants attacked the church |
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Pope answers questions on evangelization, poverty at Pentecost vigil(Monday, May. 20) Questioned about the keys to successful evangelization, Pope Francis suggested that ecclesial movements should focus on three words: Jesus, prayer, and witness. The Holy Father took questions |
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Holy Spirit makes Church always new, Pope says at Pentecost Mass(Monday, May. 20) “God always brings newness—and demands our complete trust,” Pope Francis said in his homily at a Pentecost Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square. More than 200,000 people attended the morning Mass, |
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USCCB, other Catholic organizations: contact senators about farm bill(Monday, May. 20) The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and three other Catholic organizations are asking Catholics to urge their senators “to support a Farm Bill that feeds hungry people, promotes |
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Ecumenical Patriarch: even amid persecution and attacks on family, the Church endures(Monday, May. 20) At a conference commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, in which Emperor Constantine decreed the toleration of Christianity in the Roman Empire, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew |
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UN food official lauds commitment of Pope Francis, Church to ending hunger(Monday, May. 20) The director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has praised the commitment of Pope Francis and the Church to ending hunger. “On a scale of 1 to 10, the Pope’s |
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Kansas court rules that civil courts cannot interfere in annulment cases(Monday, May. 20) The Court of Appeals of the State of Kansas has ruled that civil courts cannot interfere in ecclesiastical annulment cases. A man filed suit against his ex-wife after he alleged she falsely |
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Vatican official: current Code of Canon Law drafted during ‘naïve’ time(Monday, May. 20) The Vatican official who is helping oversee the revision of the chapter of the Code of Canon Law that deals with canonical penalties said in an interview that the current code was drafted during “a |
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Liturgical Calendar: Optional Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, priest(Monday, May. 20) Born in 1380, St. Bernardine of Siena left the world at an early age in order to lead a hermit's life. When he was twenty-two, he entered the Franciscan Order, one of whose glories he is. Having |
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New Document: Be Open to God's Surprises(Monday, May. 20) The Mass that Pope Francis celebrated on May 19, 2013, in St. Peter's Square in front of over 200,000 people was the concluding event of the two days of pilgrimage for the ecclesial movements, |
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New Document: Financial Crisis Rooted In Rejection of Ethics(Monday, May. 20) On May 16, 2013, Pope Francis received the credential letters of four new ambassadors to the Holy See: Mr. Bolot Iskovich Otunbaev from Kyrgyzstan; Mr. David Shoul from Antigua and Barbuda; Mr. |
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Updated Website Review: Most Holy Family Monastery(Monday, May. 20) Most Holy Family Monastery, is a dissident, sedevacantist organization that challenges the papal authority of Pope John Paul II. Begun by two brothers, Peter and Michael Dimond, it manages to spew |
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Liturgical Calendar: Pentecost Sunday(Sunday, May. 19) And when the days of Pentecost were drawing to a close, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind coming, and it filled the whole house |
