2015-06-27T16:42:00+00:00

Vatican City, Jun 27, 2015 / 10:42 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis formally approved on Saturday the decrees necessary for Blesseds Louis and Zelie Martin – known for being the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux – to be declared saints later this year. The two blesseds will be the first couple ever to be canonized at the same ceremony, which will be held Oct. 18 in the Vatican. The event will take place fewer than three weeks after the Oct. 1 feast of their daughter, and doctor of the Church, St. Therese of the Child Jesus. The Roman Pontiff approved the decrees for the Martins' canonization during a June 27 consistory of bishops at the Apostolic Palace. On March 18, the Pope had recognized a miracle attributed to the couple. Married in 1858 just three months after meeting each other, Bl. Louis and Zelie lived in celibacy for nearly a year, but eventually went on to have nine children. Four died in infancy, while the remaining five daughters entered religious life. Zelie died from cancer in 1877, leaving Louis to care for their five young daughters: Marie, Pauline, Leonie, Celine, and Therese, who was only four at the time. Louis died in 1894 after suffering two strokes in 1889, followed by five years of serious drawn-out illness. Louis and Zelie were beatified Oct. 19, 2008 by Benedict XVI. The canonizations of the married couple will coincide with the Synod on the Family, to be held on Oct. 4-25. The three-week gathering of bishops will be the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place in the course of a year. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops will be the family, this time with the theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the church and the modern world.” Pope Francis venerated the relics of Blesseds Louis and Zelie ahead of the 2014 Synod on the Family, along with those of another married couple: Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi. It was announced at Saturday’s consistory that Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin will be canonized alongside two others: Blessed Vincenzo Grossi, an Italian priest and founder of the Institute of the Daughters of the Oratory, and Bl. Maria of the Immaculate Conception, Spanish superior general of the Sisters of the Company of the Cross.   Read more

2015-06-27T12:02:00+00:00

Washington D.C., Jun 27, 2015 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Friday’s Supreme Court ruling against the traditional understanding of marriage may pose huge obstacles to the free exercise of religion and conscience across the US, the nation's bishops have said in response to the decision. “The free exercise of religion means that we have a right not only to debate it openly in the public square, but to operate our ministries and to live our lives in accordance to the truth about marriage without violence, or being penalized, or losing our tax exemption, or losing our ability to serve the common good through our social services and through education,” Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chair of the U.S. bishops conference’s Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, told EWTN News Nightly June 26. “The Church and its religious organizations serve millions of people with love and attention,” the archbishop said, adding that “it would be a shame to see that jeopardized. It would be a shame to see free exercise swallowed up in this decision.” In a 5-4 decision on Friday, the Supreme Court ruled on Obergefell v. Hodges, deciding that states must grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states. The ruling was granted under the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects the rights of all citizens to “life, liberty, or property” under due process, and guarantees them equal protection of the laws in the states. In this case, the Court ruled that the state laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman deprived same-sex couples of their right to legally marry. The ruling overturned a November decision by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld traditional marriage laws in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Same-sex marriage is now legal in all fifty states. States must also recognize one another's marriage licenses regardless of the partners’ sexes. Military chaplains will be protected by the First Amendment, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services told CNA. “In general, chaplains enjoy the First Amendment rights that all of us enjoy. And so they are forbidden to do anything that their endorser – or in this case, for Catholic priests, that would be me – forbids them to do, and they must the ability to do the things that the endorser requires of them. So at least on the legal level, they are protected.” What is less clear is the other consequences the decision brings upon the military archdiocese, Archbishop Broglio said, conceding that problems previously unseen will now manifest themselves. Though it is also unclear how the ruling will specifically affect Catholic individuals, families, businesses, and ministries, it is clearly far-reaching, Archbishop Lori said. It will affect a myriad of marriage laws and regulations at the state and local levels. “Today’s ruling does not just affect one law, but in fact hundreds if not thousands of federal, state, and local laws and regulations that implicate marriage, spouses, and so forth,” he said. People of faith who believe in the traditional understanding of marriage “ may very well see a difficult road ahead.” Anthony Picarello, general counsel for the U.S. bishops conference, addressed some specific areas where controversies might arise, such as tax exemptions, employee benefits, employment, and school accreditation. “We’ve seen already many of these disputes emerge in states that have already recognized same-sex marriage. We’ve seen them in states that have aggressive sexual orientation, gender identity, and anti-discrimination laws,” he commented. There will likely be social consequences for supporters of the traditional understanding of marriage, Picarello added. The Supreme Court's decision “makes a nod in the direction of religious liberty but not enough of one,” Archbishop Lori said. While it grants the right of religions to teach and advocate about marriage, the majority opinion says nothing of the free exercise of religion that is central to the First Amendment – and this is extremely problematic, the archbishop explained. The free exercise of religion means the ability for people to live their religious beliefs while “interacting with the broader society,” Archbishop Lori continued. For the majority of the court to omit this in its discussion of religious freedom could “give rise to a lot of legal controversies,” he warned. Catholics must vigorously defend this right of free exercise, while respecting the beliefs of opponents, he added. “To put a label on people as a way of closing off the debate, or as a way of vilifying those who disagree, really runs counter to what the First Amendment intends,” Archbishop Lori said. “As believers, we should be prepared, whatever the cost is, to bear witness to our faith. To do it lovingly, but also to do it truthfully and to do it persistently.” Catholics should take heart that this is not the first time they have faced the prospect of persecution in the U.S., Archbishop Broglio added. “This wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve experienced ostracism for our beliefs. All you have to do is go back to the 19th century with the Know Nothings and the reactions there,” he said. “So we survived that. We’ll survive this.” Read more

2015-06-26T21:03:00+00:00

Vatican City, Jun 26, 2015 / 03:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis on Friday praised Catholic girl scout leaders’ “absolutely crucial” role in educating women for their vocation and responsibilities in a world of ideologies that work against God and treat women as inferior. “Today it is very important that womanhood be properly appreciated … we are in a world where we see the spread of ideologies contrary to nature and God’s design for the family and marriage,” Pope Francis told a delegation of scouting leaders June 26. “It is therefore necessary to educate girls not only to the beauty and grandeur of their vocation as women, in a fair and differentiated relationship between man and woman, but also to take on important responsibilities in the Church and in society.” He continued, saying that “education is the indispensable means for enabling girls to grow into active and responsible women, proud and happy in the faith in Christ they live in their everyday life. In this way they will participate in the construction of a world imbued with the Gospel.” In his remarks at Vatican City’s Clementine Hall, the Pope said girl scout organizations can play a major role in improving the situation of women in countries where they are treated as inferiors, exploited or mistreated. Pope Francis addressed delegates from the International Catholic Conference of Guiding. The organization supports Catholic girl scouts and girl guides in 49 countries around the world and unites national scouting organizations. The girl guides conference has gathered in Rome on the 50th anniversary of its founding to reflect on the theme “Living as a guide for the joy of the Gospel.” Pope Francis praised this theme, saying that its program proclaims “that encountering Jesus frees us and heals us … opens us to other and drives us to announce him, especially to the poorest and most distant, the lonely and abandoned.” The Pope noted that scouting’s educational method gives an important role to contact with nature. He connected this with his recent encyclical on care for our common home, Laudato Si'. “I hope that guides will continue to be alert to the presence and the goodness of the Creator in the beauty of the world that surrounds them,” he said. “This contemplative attitude will lead them to live in harmony with themselves, with others and with God. It is a new way of life, more coherent with the gospel, that they will be able to transmit to others around them.” He especially encouraged girl scout leaders to teach in a way that is open to a life consecrated to God, saying that the scouting movement has been very fruitful in this area. The Pope’s comments about ideologies contrary to God’s design for marriage came hours before the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, protected by the 14th amendment. Read more

2015-06-26T20:44:00+00:00

Vatican City, Jun 26, 2015 / 02:44 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The comprehensive agreement signed on Friday by the Holy See and the State of Palestine may serve the twofold goal of stimulating peace in the Middle East and providing a model for similar treaties with other Middle East countries. The text of the treaty was agreed upon May 13, and the document was signed June 26 in the Apostolic Palace by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States (the Vatican's 'foreign minister'), and by Riad al-Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine. The Vatican-Palestinian agreement recognizes freedom of religion in Palestine, and outlines the rights and obligations of the Church, its agencies, and its personnel in the territory. The comprehensive agreement follows upon a “basic agreement” which was signed in February 2000. It backs a two-state solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, though the bulk of the agreement regards freedom of religion and conscience, as well as the Church's freedom of action, its staff and jurisdiction, legal status, places of worship, social and charitable activity, and use of communications media. It also includes issues of a fiscal and proprietary nature. In an address following the signing, Archbishop Gallagher underscored that the agreement is signed with the State of Palestine, and that “this is indicative of the progress made by the Palestinian Authority in recent years, and above all of the level of international support, which culminated in the Resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations of 29 November 2012, which recognized Palestine as non member Observer State at the United Nations.” Archbishop Gallagher voiced hope “that the present Agreement may in some way be a stimulus to bringing a definitive end to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which continues to cause suffering for both parties. I also hope that the much desired two-State solution may become a reality as soon as possible.” “This certainly requires courageous decisions, but it will also offer a major contribution to peace and stability in the region.” For his part, al-Malki noted that the agreement's provisions “span the shared vision of the two Parties for peace and justice in the region, the protection of fundamental freedoms, the status and protection of Holy Sites, and the means of enhancing and furthering the presence and activities of the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Palestine.” He noted that “for the first time, the Agreement includes an official recognition by the Holy See of Palestine as a State, in recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, freedom and dignity in an independent state of their own, free from the shackles of occupation. It also supports the vision for peace and justice in the region in accordance with international law and based on two states, living side by side in peace and security, on the basis of the 1967 borders.” He drew attention to Palestine's special status as “the birthplace of Christianity and as the cradle of monolithic religions,” saying the agreement “embodies our shared values of freedom, dignity, tolerance, co-existence, and equality of all. This comes at a time when extremism, barbaric violence, and ignorance threaten the social fabric and cultural identity of the region and indeed of human heritage. At this backdrop, the State of Palestine reiterates its commitment to combat extremism, and to promote tolerance, freedom of consciousness and religion, and to equally safeguard the rights of all its citizens.” “These are the values and principles that reflect the beliefs and aspirations of the Palestinian people and its leadership, and they are the pillars upon which we continue to endeavor to establish our independent and democratic State.” The Palestinian foreign minister added that the agreement “upholds the Church's standing as an important contributor to the lives of many Palestinians.” Archbishop Gallagher commented that he is pleased that “guarantees have been given for the work of the Catholic Church and her institutions. Catholics do not seek any privilege other than continued cooperation with their fellow-citizens for the good of society. I am also pleased to say that the local Church, which has been actively involved in the negotiations, is satisfied with the goal attained and is happy to see the strengthening of its good relations with the civil Authorities.” He added that the agreement “offers a good example of dialogue and cooperation” in the Middle East, “and I earnestly hope that this may serve as a model for other Arab and Muslim majority countries. With this in mind, I would like to emphasize the importance of the chapter dedicated to freedom of religion and freedom of conscience.” A Vatican observer who took part in the negotiations told CNA that the agreement is particularly important because it is the first of its kind signed with a majority Muslim country, in which the state juridically acknowledges the Holy See and clearly recognizes freedom of conscience, “as has never been done in the past.” Vincenzo Buonomo, an adviser to Vatican City State, wrote in L’Osservatore Romano that “the explicit acknowledgement of authentic conscientious objection as a practice consistent with the right of freedom of thought, belief, and religion is notable for its current relevance.” Buonomo also stressed that value of the agreement is given by the participation of the Palestinian Catholic community in the negotiations, which began in 2010. “The local Church has been shown to be an effective agent, providing a valuable contribution not only towards the consolidation of the ecclesial reality, but also to the image of Palestine and the Holy Land as a whole,” wrote Buonomo. The Israeli foreign ministry reacted to the treaty's signing with a statement expressing its “regret regarding the Vatican decision to officially recognize the Palestinian Authority as a state.” The Israeli foreign minister stressed that this “hasty step damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement, and harms the international effort to convince the Palestinian Authority to return to direct negotiations with Israel.” “Israel cannot accept the unilateral determinations in the agreement which do not take into account Israel's essential interests and the special historic status of the Jewish people in Jerusalem,” the statement read. The foreign ministry also announced that “Israel will study the agreement in detail, and its implications for future cooperation between Israel and the Vatican.” Read more

2015-06-26T17:15:00+00:00

Washington D.C., Jun 26, 2015 / 11:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholics are called to witness to the truth of marriage despite the Supreme Court of the United States recognizing a legal right to same-sex marriage, the nation's bishops said on Friday. “Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable,” said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, president of the U.S bishops conference, in a June 26 statement for the conference. “Jesus Christ, with great love, taught unambiguously that from the beginning marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman,” Archbishop Kurtz added. “As Catholic bishops, we follow our Lord and will continue to teach and to act according to this truth.” In a 5-4 decision on Friday, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that under the Fourteenth Amendment, states must grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states. The Fourteenth Amendment protects the rights of all citizens to “life, liberty, or property” under due process, and guarantees them “equal protection of the laws” in the states. In this case, the court ruled that state laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman deprived same-sex couples of their right to legally marry. The ruling overturned a November decision by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld traditional marriage laws in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Same-sex marriage is now legal in all fifty states. Although the Court recognizes a legal right to same-sex marriage, Catholics must teach and bear witness to true marriage, the bishops insisted. “The unique meaning of marriage as the union of one man and one woman is inscribed in our bodies as male and female,” Archbishop Kurtz reflected. “Mandating marriage redefinition across the country is a tragic error that harms the common good and most vulnerable among us, especially children. The law has a duty to support every child’s basic right to be raised, where possible, by his or her married mother and father in a stable home.” Despite the ruling, Catholics should continue to preach the truth about the nature of marriage with “faith, hope, and love” for all persons, and asked “all people of good will” to join Catholics in supporting this proclamation and respecting Catholics’ “freedom to seek, live by, and bear witness to the truth” The decision “will not end the discussion about what marriage is and why it matters for public policy,” stated Jennifer Marshall, vice president for the Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity at the Heritage Foundation. Along with this support for true marriage, considerable social and legal obstacles will now have to be overcome as a result of the Obergefell decision, legal experts admitted. “Redefining marriage to make it a genderless institution fundamentally changes marriage,” said Ryan Anderson, the William E. Simon senior research fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation. “It makes the relationship more about the desires of adults than about the needs, or the rights, of children,” he added. The Supreme Court also played “activist” in re-defining marriage, an issue that should have been left to the state-level democratic process said Caleb Dalton, a legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom. The Court “invented a new constitutional right,” Dalton told CNA in an interview shortly after the decision.   “The Fourteenth Amendment does not speak to what marriage is, and today the Supreme Court decided that it knows better than millions of Americans what the best social policy for the United States is.” The decision pushes legal same-sex marriage on a collision course with religious liberty at the national level, and the consequences for religious freedom could be severe, Dalton noted. This conflict has been occurring in states where same-sex marriage has already been legalized, with business owners facing discrimination lawsuits when they decline to serve same-sex weddings for religious reasons. Now that same-sex marriage is legal nationwide, more lawsuits like this could occur. “It’s redefinition of marriage like this that will continue to impact religious liberty of Americans across our country and it’s concerning,” Dalton said. Anderson stated, “There is an urgent need for policy to ensure the government never penalizes anyone for standing up for marriage." “We must work to protect the freedom of speech, association, and religion of those who continue to abide by the truth of marriage as one man and one woman.” Read more

2015-06-26T14:07:00+00:00

Washington D.C., Jun 26, 2015 / 08:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a wide-reaching decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that same-sex “marriage” is a constitutional right and that states must recognize same-sex unions. By a vote of 5-4, the court ruled June 26 that states must recognize same-sex “marriages” under the 14th Amendment, and recognize such unions contracted in other states. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing the majority opinion, said the court now holds that same-sex couples may “exercise the fundamental right to marry.” He characterized this as a liberty that had been denied to them. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito dissented and, in an unusual step, each wrote separate opinions. “The majority's decision is an act of will, not legal judgment,” Roberts said. “The right it announces has no basis in the Constitution or this court's precedent.” “Five lawyers have closed the debate and enacted their own vision of marriage as a matter of constitutional law,” he said. Justice Antonin Scalia characterized the decision as a “threat to American democracy,” “hubris” and a “judicial putsch.” Justice Thomas said the decision means that conflict between the recognition of same-sex marriage and religious liberty appears “all but inevitable” as individuals and churches face demands to participate and endorse in these marriages. The use of the judicial process “short circuits” the political process that could consider religious freedom implications, “with potentially ruinous consequences for religious liberty.” Similarly, Justice Alito said the decision “will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy.” He objected to the majority’s comparison of traditional marriage laws to laws that denied equal treatment for African-Americans and women, saying this analogy’s implications “will be fully exploited by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent.” The decision in Obergefell v. Hodges dealt with claims that Ohio’s marriage law discriminated by not recognizing same-sex unions contracted as marriages in other states. Several other states were also facing similar cases on the constitutionality of state marriage laws. Backers of marriage as a union of one man and one woman argued that marriage is intrinsically connected to the procreation of children and cannot be redefined. Some also said the matter should be left to the people and the states and not decided in court when so much disagreement on the matter persists. Backers of “gay marriage” asserted a fundamental right to marry whomever one loves, saying that failure to redefine marriage amounts to decimation. Justice Kennedy’s decision claimed that it “demeans gays and lesbians for the State to lock them out of a central institution of the Nation’s society.” “Same-sex couples, too, may aspire to the transcendent purpose of marriage and seek fulfillment in its highest meaning.” Chief Justice Roberts said that a fundamental right to marry “does not include a right to make a state change its definition of marriage” and a decision to maintain marriage as a union of a man and a woman “can hardly be called irrational.” For his part, Justice Alito noted that the connection between marriage and procreation has eroded in the popular mind. However, he said it is “far beyond the outer reaches of this court’s authority to say that a state may not adhere to the understanding of marriage that has long prevailed.” Justice Thomas objected to the majority decision’s use of the legal principle of substantive due process, saying the court was “wiping out with a stroke of the keyboard the results of the political process in over 30 states.” The decision was an “inversion of the original meaning of liberty.” Same-sex “marriage” was not firmly established in any U.S. state until 2004, after a Massachusetts court ruled that the state must give marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In response to that ruling, some had called for a federal constitutional amendment to protect the definition of marriage. Voters in 30 states have passed constitutional amendments and referenda strengthening the legal definition of marriage as a union of one man and one woman. Many of these efforts have been overturned in state or federal court challenges. In 2013, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal from supporters of California’s defense-of-marriage amendment, Proposition 8, which California officials had refused to defend in court. The Supreme Court said that the appeal did not have legal standing and allowed a lower state court’s overruling of the proposition to take effect. The Supreme Court itself has declined to review several recent appeals seeking to defend state marriage laws against lower court decisions. Also in 2013, a 5-4 ruling from the Supreme Court struck down aspects of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act. The court claimed that a provision defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman for federal purposes violated the U.S. constitution’s equal protection guarantees. The ruling said that the federal government must recognize “gay marriages” in individual states if the states choose to recognize them. The Defense of Marriage Act had passed Congress overwhelmingly and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton after a Hawaii court ruling briefly recognized such unions. Increasing requirements for recognition of same-sex unions as marriages, combined with state anti-discrimination laws, have caused growing conflict with religious freedom. Parents in some school districts have faced difficulty in exempting their children from classes voicing approval of same-sex relationships, while small businesses with moral reservations about participating in same-sex ceremonies have faced discrimination lawsuits. Catholic-run adoption agencies have been forced to close because the law would require them to place children with same-sex couples against their religious beliefs. Those who supported efforts to defend marriage have also faced professional retaliation. In 2014 Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich was forced to leave the company he co-founded after activist groups and media publicized that he had donated to support California’s Proposition 8. The consequences for religious freedom were a topic of the court’s deliberations in Obergefell v. Hodges. U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verilli at one point acknowledged that the high court’s approval of a legal right to same-sex “marriage” could mean problems for the tax-exempt status of colleges with objections to recognizing the unions. Read more

2015-06-26T12:03:00+00:00

Sacramento, Calif., Jun 26, 2015 / 06:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An assisted suicide bill in California has been temporarily pulled from a key committee in the state legislature, but its opponents say more work is necessary to sway legislators against it.... Read more

2015-06-26T09:02:00+00:00

Omaha, Neb., Jun 26, 2015 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the state that’s home to the College World Series, a new kind of series came to town on Father’s Day. Priests from two of Nebraska’s three Catholic dioceses – the Diocese of Lincoln and the Archdiocese of Omaha – played each other in a softball game Sunday afternoon in an effort to raise awareness for vocations and to honor both spiritual and natural fathers. The game, dubbed the “I-80 Collar Series” (Lincoln and Omaha are just 60 miles apart along Interstate 80), was sponsored by local Catholic radio network, KVSS “Spirit Catholic Radio”. KVSS executive director Jim Carroll told CNA he was inspired to start the series after hearing of a similar game between the priests of the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph and the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. He said he thought Father’s Day would be the perfect time for a game honoring priests – especially since there usually isn’t a College World Series game that day.Highlights video courtesy of Father Andrew Heaslip/Diocese of Lincoln  “We said, you know, people are so crazy about sports, it’s the College World Series time, so we thought it would be a great opportunity for the whole family to come out and do something,” he said. “They could recognize their dads, but also our priests as spiritual fathers. So many times we don’t get to see our priests having fun.” Carroll and his staff started by contacting priests who had been involved with the radio show to see if they’d be interested in a game. They asked parishes and Catholic bookstores and restaurants to help sell the tickets. As the day approached, the priests and the staff with KVSS held their breath and prayed that the weather would hold – Nebraska has seen an unseasonable amount of rain as of late. It worked: Sunday turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day, with nearly 7,000 people showing up to fill Werner Park minor-league stadium in Papillion, Neb. Of the 7,000, more than 200 were priests and religious, and around 60 were seminarians. Nine buses, organized by priests, drove in from across the state filled with clerical sports fans. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, bishop emeritus of the Lincoln diocese, threw out the opening pitch. “The energy was just incredible, there were so many families and people there, so it was really neat,” said JD Flynn, director of communications for the Diocese of Lincoln. “Part of building Christian culture is just having fun in a Catholic context, so that’s just what that was.” “The Omaha Storm Chasers usually play at Werner Park - and I would guess it had even more excitement than an Omaha Storm Chasers game,” he added. Fr. Ryan Lewis, a priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha, said events such as softball games helps bust the myth of a priest as some kind of ethereal being who’s not fully human. “I think it’s very much in the John Paul II model of priesthood, that the priest is still very much a man, and incarnate, so things like sports and family and faith, that these things are not separate, they all go together,” he said. “I think it just really shows the best face of the priesthood.” Fr. Nicholas Kipper, a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln, agreed that a softball game showed the humanity of priests in a way that lay people don’t often get to see. “We as priests see ourselves as very human and know we’re very human, but something like this is something that’s attractive to people, because they get to see their priests as regular men or normal men,” he said. Carroll said the priests seemed to enjoy the large audience and made the most of the game as a chance for some funny antics. “One of them started an argument with the umpire, he was kicking dirt at him, another priest came out and put a stole on him and gave him absolution,” he said. “These priests, we’ve got some hams, they were really playing it up.” Cooperation among the dioceses in Nebraska is not uncommon, Flynn observed. The bishops of all three dioceses in the state have collaborated on efforts to repeal the death penalty in Nebraska and to organize rallies for religious freedom. They also often attend events of their neighboring dioceses, such as priestly and diaconate ordinations. The relationships among the dioceses are especially important because so many high school kids end up going to colleges throughout the state that might not be in their home diocese, Fr. Lewis pointed out. “It’s really helpful for us priests to know each other and to collaborate, because we’ve got a lot of youth from each diocese back and forth,” he said. This might have been the first time, however, that the priests gathered for a purely playful event, observed Fr. Paul Hoesing of the Omaha archdiocese. And although the game was a little lopsided – Lincoln, the red team, defeated the Omaha priests in blue by a sound 31-17 – it was all in a spirit of friendship and camaraderie, Fr. Hoesing added. “Competition aside, any time the brother priests can be together, it’s a gift for the whole Church, and it’s a great service when they can serve the Church together,” he said. “So I’m happy to serve the Church if it means playing ball.”   All the money made during the game was split between the vocations offices of the two dioceses, and will go toward tuition for seminarians and to other vocation-promoting events. Carroll said due to popular demand, he’s hoping to make the I-80 Collar Series an annual event that will incorporate the Diocese of Grand Island, as well as dioceses in Iowa that are also along I-80.   “All the bishops have said it’s been a really unifying thing having Catholic radio,” he said. “There’s a lot of talk about how we can expand this series.'” Read more

2015-06-26T06:00:00+00:00

Washington D.C., Jun 26, 2015 / 12:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A new bill protecting the religious liberty of traditional marriage advocates has the support of two leading U.S. bishops. But will the First Amendment Defense Act be enough to stem the rising ... Read more

2015-06-25T23:15:00+00:00

Vatican City, Jun 25, 2015 / 05:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis told the graduating class of Holy See ambassadors on Thursday that their main mission is to be Christ’s representatives to the world. “It is not possible to represent someone without reflecting their features, without evoking their face,” he said June 25 at the Vatican's Consistory Hall. What does the face of Christ look like in the world? Truth and love, the Holy Father said. “Jesus said, 'Whoever has seen me has seen the Father'. You are not called to be the high functionaries of a state,” Pope Francis explained, “but rather the guardians of a truth that supports those who offer it.”   Pope Francis addressed those about to finish their studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, or the “Accademia” – the Roman institution responsible for preparing priests for diplomatic service to the Holy See all over the world. In typical Pope Francis fashion, he gave the priests several analogies for the hard work they have ahead of them as ambassadors for Christ and his Church.   “I exhort you not to expect to find the terrain ready, but rather to have the courage to plough it with your hands, without tractors or other more effective means which we will never have at our disposal – to prepare it for sowing, awaiting the harvest with God's patience,” he said. He encouraged them in patience and perseverance, even though the fruits of the harvest might not be seen in their lifetime. The Holy Father also asked that the future apostolic nuncios not look for “fish in aquariums or farms,” but that they “instead have the courage to leave behind the safe margins of what is already known and to cast your nets and rods in less obvious seas.” And when the work becomes difficult, Pope Francis asked the nuncios to remember why they began the mission in the first place.   “(I)t is necessary to cultivate deep roots, to protect the memory of why you embarked on this path, and not to be hollowed out by cynicism nor to lose sight of the face of he who is at the origin of your journey.” He also reminded them that their true authority does not come from a state or an earthly person, but rather from the love of Christ himself. “The true authority of the Church of Rome is Christ's charity. This is the sole force that renders her universal and credible for man and for the world,” he explained.    Pope Francis then assured the future nuncios of his prayers, and asked for theirs in return. At the end of the address, he reminded the priests: “Your whole life is at the service of the Gospel and of the Church. Never forget it!” Read more




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