From Vatican News: Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Australian Archbishop Philip Edward Wilson of Adelaide on Monday. An Australian court found the archbishop guilty in May of failing to report to police the sexual abuse of two altar servers by a priest in the 1970s. Archbishop Wilson, 67, was sentenced on July 3rd to 12 months in prison with a non-parole period of 6 months. Despite stepping aside from the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Adelaide in May, Archbishop... Read more
Check out the video above and read the full account from Cincinnati.com: We’re upstairs in his office, where three pictures of a young man in gray prison clothes are taped to his computer. They sit closer to him than the pictures of his grandchildren. At 63 years old, Larry Day doesn’t have many friends. He makes a lot of them, but then they die. He’s often there as the machine is turned off for the last time. As a church... Read more
The bishop of Albany, Edward B. Scharfenberger, released the following letter to his clergy today, taking aim at the McCarrick scandal and what it has to say to us today. Read it all. + My dear brothers in Christ, A psalm-prayer this morning from the Office of the Hours reads: “Lord Jesus, you were rejected by your people, betrayed by the kiss of a friend, and deserted by your disciples. Give us the confidence that you had in the Father, and... Read more
Details: Thousands of anti-government protesters in Nicaragua have taken part in a march to show support for the Roman Catholic Church. The government accuses Catholic bishops of siding with the opposition and encouraging protests. Followers of other religious denominations and non-believers joined the march in the capital, Managua. More than 300 people have died since protests against President Daniel Ortega began in April. “Justice!” and “Freedom!” were some of the slogans shouted by demonstrators. “Our temples will always be open... Read more
My homily students know this piece of advice I always give them: even if you aren’t assigned to preach, be prepared. Well, I’m not scheduled to preach this weekend, but I started scribbling down a few thoughts, just to be prepared. I don’t know if anyone will hear this on Sunday (probably not), but I thought I’d post it here. + This weekend marks the first official observance of the feast of Blessed Stanley Rother. Some of you may remember... Read more
Here’s a perennial favorite at my parish. It will be making a return appearance this weekend, as we celebrate the conclusion of our annual St. John Vianney Novena for Vocations, and welcome back to the parish newly-ordained Father Jose Diaz. The hymn was composed by Gordon Young and published in 1956: Young was born in McPherson, Kansas. His undergraduate degree in music was earned at Southwestern College, Winfield, Kansas. Following that he was a scholarship pupil of organist Alexander McCurdy at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in the... Read more
The following message was sent to the parishioners of Corpus Christi, a Roman Catholic community of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, in Charleston, South Carolina. The author is the pastor, Rev. Patrick Allen, himself a former Anglican. I think it is a message many of us need to hear. +JMJ+ Dear friends, In last Sunday’s first reading, we heard the word of the Lord by the Prophet Jeremiah: ‘Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep... Read more
From the National Catholic Register: The full text of the Vatican statement: “Yesterday evening the Holy Father received the letter in which Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington (U.S.A.), presented his resignation as a member of the College of Cardinals. Pope Francis accepted his resignation from the cardinalate and has ordered his suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer... Read more
Gretchen Crowe was there — and experienced the enthusiasm and joy so many of us have been savoring since we left. From Our Sunday Visitor: After the Charter, after the safe environments, after all of the apologies, the meeting with victims, the talk of transparency, the classes, the fingerprinting, even the excuses, it feels like we should be somewhere … better. But it turns out that we’re not, and it sure seems like we have a lot of work to... Read more
From our Eastern siblings: At 44, Bishop Milan Lach is the fifth bishop of the Byzantine Ruthenian Eparchy of Parma and the youngest bishop to head a diocese in North America. He also is the third-youngest Eastern Catholic bishop to head a diocese and the first foreign-born bishop for an eparchy that comprises 12 states in the Midwest. A native of Slovakia, Bishop Lach is among about a dozen bishops from other countries that Pope Francis has appointed to the... Read more
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