No longer “Catholic”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:06 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

In a rare and dramatic move, the Vatican has stripped a prestigious university of its right to call itself “Catholic.” Details: The Vatican has announced it is stripping the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru of its Catholic identity after the elite university repeatedly refused to comply with the Church’s requirements for colleges. “The Holy See, with Decree of His Eminence the Secretary of State, under a specific Pontifical mandate, has decided to remove from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru... Read more

Homily for July 22, 2012: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time — UPDATED WITH AUDIO

Last updated on: July 21, 2012 at 11:33 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

[Click here for readings] The tragic news out of Aurora, Colorado has cast a long shadow over this summer weekend. Aurora joins a sad list of places whose names have come to symbolize senseless violence and loss. Places like Columbine, and Fort Hood and Virginia Tech. Late Friday, the bishops of Denver issued a statement. “For those who were killed, our hope is the tender mercy of our God,” they said. “‘Neither death nor life,’ reflected St. Paul, ‘can separate... Read more

Ordination update: 17 new deacons in Helena

Last updated on: July 21, 2012 at 11:27 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details, from the Montana Catholic: An ordination, much like a wedding, is a momentous occasion, both for the man receiving Holy Orders and for those gathered in joyful witness. But the ordination of 17 men to the permanent diaconate takes on historical significance. June 29 was a day for making history as Bishop George Leo Thomas ordained 17 men who spent the past 4½ years in formation for their vocation as permanent deacons. This ordination was the largest in the... Read more

Homily for July 22, 2012: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time — UPDATED WITH AUDIO

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:00 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

To hear audio of this homily, click the green arrow below HOMILY072212 [Click here for readings] The tragic news out of Aurora, Colorado has cast a long shadow over this summer weekend. Aurora joins a sad list of places whose names have come to symbolize senseless violence and loss. Places like Columbine, and Fort Hood and Virginia Tech. Late Friday, the bishops of Denver issued a statement. “For those who were killed, our hope is the tender mercy of our... Read more

Ministering to the grieving in Aurora

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:06 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: The news came in to Mitch Hamilton by phone just after midnight. Members of his church had been inside the theater when shots rang out. Hamilton is pastor of Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church, near the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, where a gunman opened fire early Friday, killing 12 and wounding dozens more. “We’re close, but you feel like you’re a million miles away,” Hamilton said during a break from tending to the needs of his church and planning... Read more

Ramadan isn’t Lent —and a few other things you should know

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:06 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

My colleague at CNEWA, Fr. Elias Mallon, last year wrote a superb essay on how Muslims observe Ramadan. (Among other things, his piece was honored last month with a Catholic Press Association Award). We’ve excerpted part of it over at CNEWA’s award-winning blog, “One-to-One”, in honor of the start of the holy season. In the original piece, Fr. Elias points out some interesting similarities and differences between Ramadan and Lent: On the surface, Ramadan resembles Christian Lent. It differs, however,... Read more

Worth a thousand words: Aurora edition

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:06 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A man arrives at Children’s Hospital in Aurora, CO, Friday 20 July 2012. Photo by Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post. Read the latest. I know many prayers are being said for all who have been touched by this tragedy, and I can only add my own to the list, in the quiet hope that they will all bring some measure of healing and consolation during this troubled and anguished time. For all who grieve, who mourn, who ache… For... Read more

A sister writes: “Statements in the CDF document strike me as inaccurate, misleading, and unfair…”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:06 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

I confess that I’m not a regular reader of Commonweal, but a reader sent this my way and it seems to me a worthwhile addition to the conversation: an essay by a sister explaining, in her view, what the CDF has gotten wrong in its probe into the LCWR: Like many others, I am deeply distressed by the document produced by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith(CDF) and the effect it is having on women religious around the country.... Read more

Send in the clowns: the annual pilgrimage to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:06 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

As they have for decades, hundreds of clowns marched in Mexico on Wednesday in honor of their country’s patroness. Details: The streets of Mexico City burst with sound and color as hundreds of clowns made their annual pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady Guadalupe in Mexico City on Wednesday (July 18) to pay homage to the Virgin of Guadalupe. Dressed in colorful costumes, clowns from all over Mexico walked towards the Basilica to attend a mass in honor of... Read more

Nun to carry Olympic torch

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:06 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

And she’s pretty remarkable. Details: Next Tuesday, 24 July, Sister Mary-Joy Langdon from Acton will carry the Olympic Torch in the Kingston to Ealing leg on Day 67 of the Olympic Torch Relay hoping to keep a number of different flames burning strongly. Sister Mary-Joy is no ordinary nun – if there is such a thing. In 1976 she became Britain’s first female fire fighter when she joined the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service in Battle. In 1984 she... Read more