Michigan Catholic church offers sanctuary to immigrants

Last updated on: July 18, 2018 at 11:23 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

You can check out the video above. Details: A Catholic parish in Lansing is the latest church in Michigan to designate itself as a “sanctuary church” for unauthorized immigrants facing deportation. During a Monday afternoon press conference, Fr. Fred Thelen of Cristo Rey Church, congregants and supportive community members gathered to announce that after two years of “prayerful consideration, discussion and education, testimonies and dialogue,” the pastoral council of the church unanimously voted to become a sanctuary church. That means the... Read more

Katy Perry says Pope helped draw her back to her faith: ‘He is a rebel, a rebel for Jesus’

Last updated on: July 18, 2018 at 8:56 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: Katy Perry revealed her mother prayed her whole life the singer would “come back to God” and said she’s now focused on “spirituality and heart wholeness” while in her 30s. In a Vogue Australia interview published Tuesday, Perry, 33, said her parents were not big fans of her 2008 hit “I Kissed a Girl.” “My mom has prayed for me my entire life, hoping I’d come back to God,” Perry said. “I never left Him, I was just a little bit... Read more

To life: new Arizona law gives embryos the right to live

Last updated on: July 18, 2018 at 8:31 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

This hasn’t gotten much attention, but it is a notable step forward in the pro-life battle. From The Washington Post: When their marriage fell apart, the most contentious issue between Ruby Torres and John Joseph Terrell was the fate of their frozen embryos. There were seven in storage, created with her eggs and his sperm before Torres underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment for breast cancer. Torres, 37, wanted to use the embryos to have a baby. In divorce proceedings, she... Read more

A new priest: ‘One thing seminary did not prepare me for was the fallout from the legalization of marijuana’

Last updated on: July 17, 2018 at 11:29 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Here’s something you don’t read every day, from Word on Fire: As a recently ordained priest serving in the Great Northwest, I have found that one thing for which seminary did not prepare me was the cultural fallout from the legalization of marijuana. The growing phenomenon has made its way into parochial schools, youth groups, and even parish staff. When I recently set Google Maps to drive to St. Paul’s Cathedral in downtown Yakima, where I was to teach a... Read more

Archbishop: ‘Catholics must learn new ways to win young hearts’

Last updated on: July 17, 2018 at 11:21 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Ireland: Irish Catholicism today is “foreign” to young people and needs to wake up to the situation, according to Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin. “Change is painful; there is, however, no alternative,” he said. “Irish religious culture is changing. The main body of the membership of Irish Catholicism and its leadership belong to an age and cultural group that is in many ways foreign to the culture of young people. The Irish church needs to waken itself to the... Read more

Investigation finds statue of Virgin Mary is weeping olive oil

Last updated on: July 17, 2018 at 6:43 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: A sculpture of the Virgin Mary that appeared to be crying at a church in New Mexico is being investigated after it was determined her tears were olive oil. The statue, which is located at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Hobbs, underwent a chemical analysis that was determined to be “a scented olive oil.” “Some of the witnesses claimed it smelled of roses,” Bishop Oscar Cantu, of the diocese, told the Las Cruces Sun News. “So something... Read more

‘Virgin Mary, mother of God, I entrust to you the whole Church in America…’

Last updated on: July 16, 2018 at 4:00 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Seeking solace this afternoon, I found these stirring words of faith and hope from 31 summers ago, delivered the St. John Paul II at Dodger Stadium during his pastoral visit to the United States: I wish at this time to turn my thoughts once more to the Woman of faith and of all salvation history: Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of his Church; Mary, the Patroness of the United States under the title of her Immaculate Conception. I entrust... Read more

Is this a homily? Or a stage production?

Last updated on: July 16, 2018 at 1:29 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

My friend Fr. Matthew Schneider opines: I want to go a little deeper than matters such as the “effectiveness” or “process” of preaching to focus on the arguments around the homily as a liturgical act. Preaching can be anything from street preaching, to homilies, to a bioethics course for clergy. The situation in such cases is so different that we can’t really come to a universal rule regarding technology. Maybe on the street corner, showing a 3-D holographic version of... Read more

Would you like to work for the pope?

Last updated on: July 16, 2018 at 8:25 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Some of us already do. But here’s an extraordinary opportunity for the upcoming World Meeting of Families: With just six weeks to go to the World Meeting of Families 2018 in Dublin from 21 – 26 August, we are opening up a new opportunity for those who have availability to volunteer for one day for WMOF2018. We are asking for Volunteer Papal Mass Stewards and Holy Communion Team volunteers for the Closing Mass of WMOF2018 which will take place in... Read more

Deacon candidate dies in car accident two months before ordination

Last updated on: July 15, 2018 at 9:38 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details from the Journal Times in Racine, Wisconsin: Paul Schumacher’s life was cut short on Sunday [July 8], exactly two months shy of the date set for his ordination as a deacon in the Catholic Church. Schumacher, 58, of Mount Pleasant, was driving home from a visit with his father, who lives in the dementia ward of a nursing home in the Green Bay area, when his vehicle was struck by a motorcyclist in the Town of Morrison in Brown... Read more