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Cardinal Grech: Every Catholic is invited to weigh in on synod study groups’ deliberations
The Vatican newspaper has reported that Cardinal Mario Grech, the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, said that every group in the Church—and every individual Catholic—may offer...Free eBook:
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Pope decries social Darwinism, excoriates billionaires who accumulate wealth, despise others
In a lengthy (5,100 words), impassioned, and wide-ranging address to the 3rd Encuentro Mundial de Movimientos Populares (3rd World Meeting of Popular Movements), Pope Francis urged the movements to...Trump victory will lead to ‘authoritarian remake’ of United States, Vatican newspaper’s ‘expert analysis’ warns
A victory by Donald Trump will lead to an “authoritarian remake” (rifacimento autoritario) of the United States, according to an expert analysis of the US presidential election published...Vatican gives cautious approval for Medjugorje devotions
The Vatican has given formal approval for pilgrimages to Medjugorje, the site in Bosnia-Herzegovina that has drawn thousands of faithful since reports of Marian apparitions there beginning in...Pope chooses 21 new cardinals: who are they? [News/Analysis]
Pope Francis has announced a consistory on December 8 at which he will confer red hats on 21 new members of the College of Cardinals. “Their origins,” the Pope said, “express the...Synod, October 2: Pope defends inclusion of non-bishops; Cardinal Fernández: ‘no’ to women deacons
The second and final session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops opened on October 2 with Mass in St. Peter’s Square (video). The synod’s official theme is...Rare public conflict at Vatican over laicization of Argentine priest
In a highly unusual ruling, the Vatican in September rescinded the laicization of an Argentine priest who had been found guilty of sexual abuse of minors. But on October 7, the Dicastery for the...The ‘divine inspiration’ is ‘present in every faith,’ Pope tells interreligious gathering
In a message to an interreligious gathering in Paris for peace, Pope Francis wrote that the divine inspiration is present in every faith. “We need to keep meeting, to weave bonds of...Pope mourns killing of Catholic environmental activist in Honduras
At the conclusion of his September 22 Angelus address, Pope Francis deplored the September 14 murder of Juan Antonio López, a Honduran Catholic environmental activist, who was gunned down as he was leaving Mass.“Coordinator of social pastoral care in the Diocese of Trujillo, he was a founding member of the pastoral care of integral ecology in Honduras,” the Pope said to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. “I join in the grief of that Church and condemn every form of violence.”
“I am close to all those who see their elementary rights violated, and to those who work for the common good in response to the cry of the poor and the earth,” the Pope added.
López opposed mining that threatened the agriculture and drinking water of the indigenous Lenca people. “You told me that you were not an environmentalist because, for you, the social, ecological and political commitment was not an ideological question, but a question of your being of Christ and of the Church,” Bishop Jenry Ruiz of Trujillo said of López.
San Diego diocese bans homeschool groups from parish properties
The Diocese of San Diego, California, has announced that homeschool groups will no longer be allowed to meet on parish properties.A diocesan directive indicated that homeschool groups were prohibited from using parish building because “such usage can undermine the stability of nearby Catholic schools and lead people to think that the Church is approving and advancing particular alternative schools and programs.” A memo announcing the policy further explained:
All religious education must be carried out in a way that builds unity within the Church. No home schooling can be tolerated which does not promote the understanding that being a Christian is not a private matter of individual choice but rather of a personal vocation within the context of the Church lived out in the experience of the parish community.
The diocesan policy comes into force at a time of explosive growth in home schooling, particularly in California, where dissatisfaction with public schools has fueled a 78% increase in the number of home-schooled students in the past five years. Sources in the diocese also told The Pillar that many parents prefer to provide their children with religious education at home rather than in official parish CCD programs—an option that vindicates the parents’ rights as primary educators, but irks diocesan officials.
The San Diego policy sometimes allows non-Catholic schools to use parish properties, evaluating applications on a case-by-case basis.
