PARISH REPORT: Church Installs “Judge-Free Room” For Non-Communicants

October 21, 2015 By Larry D

(AoftheANews) ALBUQUERQUE – Believed to be the only of its kind in any Catholic church anywhere in the world, St Jose Cuervo in downtown Albuquerque opened a “Judge-free room” last weekend, for those who attend Mass but do not partake of Holy Communion. “Over the years, numerous parishioners have told me they’re tired of being judged by others when they refrain from presenting themselves for Holy Communion,” Fr Bob Serunkle, pastor of St Jose’s, told AoftheA News. “They wanted to leave the church, so out of sensitivity... Read more

Cardinal Pell: Thanks #SynodWalkout, But We’re Staying

October 17, 2015 By Larry D

This isn’t a huge surprise – it shouldn’t be, anyway. John Allen wrote about it yesterday. Via Crux: Cardinal Pell Rejects Conservative Call for a Walkout at Synod of Bishops ROME – Despite an online petition calling on prelates “faithful to Christ’s teaching” to abandon the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the family, due to perceptions of a “pre-determined outcome that is anything but orthodox,” one of the summit’s most outspoken conservatives says “there’s no ground for anyone to walk out... Read more

Faithful Bishops Ask Catholic Bloggers To Abandon Panic-Mongering

October 16, 2015 By Larry D

(AoftheANews) ROME – A report has been leaked from the Synod on the Family currently underway at the Vatican, that a group of “faithful bishops” has written a draft letter to Catholic bloggers – primarily from the West – asking them to “abandon blogging about the Synod before it is over rather than allow their postulations be viewed as reckless, and make outsiders believe all Catholic bloggers are out of their flipping minds.” One faithful archbishop, speaking to AoftheA News on the condition of anonymity, said the final... Read more

PARISH REPORT: “Miraculous!” Bride Happily Agrees To Parish’s Wedding Guidelines

October 14, 2015 By Larry D

(AoftheANews) JACKSONVILLE – Fr Charl d’Nay, pastor of Our Lady of Wholesome Goodness, had witnessed countless weddings throughout his years as a priest, but none had been anything like the one he had officiated last Saturday. Describing it as “miraculous”, d’Nay told AoftheA News that for the first time since becoming a parish priest, a bride agreed to every wedding guideline set forth in the parish’s handbook without arguing, complaining, or demanding she have her way with everything. “It was miraculous,” he said, while... Read more

Things Not Said In Scripture, #2

October 12, 2015 By Larry D

Not everything made it to the final draft of St Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount… Pray for asshats. Lord knows there are plenty of ’em around. Read more

Caption Contest – Synod on the Family Edition

October 9, 2015 By Larry D

I ran “caption contests” frequently at Ye Olde Blogge, BP (Before Patheos). They’re fun, and you, the reader, get the chance to show off your humor chops. Dawn Eden – author, speaker, blogger, world traveler (yeah, that Dawn Eden!) – sent me the following image and asked if I would post it, and come up with funny captions. I said ‘sure!’ She said she loves my blog, so how could I refuse, right? #Synod15 baby really in the middle of things. (Pic:... Read more

The AoftheA Synod Prayer

October 8, 2015 By Larry D

Dear Lord, So far today, I’m doing alright. I haven’t gossiped or lost my temper. I haven’t been arrogant, condescending, grumpy, mean-spirited, aggravated, or nasty. I haven’t complained, groused, shouted obscenities, insulted people, or called anyone names. However, I’m about to log on to Facebook and perhaps check my Twitter feed, and I’m sure that somewhere, some jackwagon has posted something totally stupid about Pope Francis and the Synod of the Family, which means I’m gonna need a ton of your help. Amen.... Read more

10 Things To Do Instead Of Reading About The Synod

October 4, 2015 By Larry D

The Synod of the Family, Part Deux, has commenced. News and commentary about it will be clogging your Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and Feedly links for the next decade, if you’re lucky it’s only that long. If you’re like me, you’re on synod overload, and want to avoid it as much as possible. I don’t blame you. Short of completely avoiding social media, Catholic blogs, and Catholic news sites, and going on a 100% Internet fast, escaping any coverage of the... Read more

Pope Francis, Magician

October 2, 2015 By Larry D

Not only did the Holy Father display humility and empathy during his visit to America, and exhort us to radically live the Gospel, and to be merciful with all whom we meet and interact… …he displayed a pretty cool trick with the altar cloth. Dude’s got talent. Who knew? (Later, during Mass, he whispered, “Now watch what I do with this wine.”) [Originally seen on Imgur] Read more

How I Know Pope Francis Follows Christ

October 1, 2015 By Larry D

This popped up on my Google+ feed last night. Would love to take credit for it, but it’s not mine. It’s funny cos it’s true. Read more