Flash: Pfleger suspended

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Late today, Cardinal Francis George issued a sharply worded letter on the case of Fr. Michael Pfleger. The controversial Chicago priest — and outspoken Obama-backer — can no longer function as a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Details: Citing what he called threats from the Rev. Michael Pfleger to leave the church, Cardinal Francis George has removed the outspoken priest from St. Sabina parish and has suspended his “sacramental faculties as a priest.” Pfleger had publicly feuded with the... Read more

Pedaling faith: New York City's "Blessing of the Bikes"

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This annual gathering will take place this weekend at New York’s Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine. You can find out more about it right here. Earlier, I wrote about blessing houses. So why not bikes? Check out the video below. Read more

Gingrich blasts "fanaticism of the secularists" at prayer breakfast

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The convert and likely candidate for President was the keynote speaker at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast this morning. One early review: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich delivered the keynote speech at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Wednesday morning. If the audience’s reaction is any indicator, he’ll have to do a lot more to woo religious conservatives in a presidential run. Gingrich, who became a Catholic in 2009, discussed his conversion as a gradual process led by his wife Callista, a... Read more

More views from the Vigil

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

If you haven’t gotten enough of Easter, and caught some of these pictures the other day, you can find a whole gallery of my parish Easter Vigil over at this link. Alleluia. And kudos, again, to Niranjan Fernando, the photographer. Read more

Soldiers push for a chaplain for atheists

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

I know: it sounds like a headline from The Onion. But it’s true. From the New York Times: In the military, there are more than 3,000 chaplains who minister to the spiritual and emotional needs of active duty troops, regardless of their faiths. The vast majority are Christians, a few are Jews or Muslims, one is a Buddhist. A Hindu, possibly even a Wiccan may join their ranks soon. But an atheist? Strange as it sounds, groups representing atheists and secular... Read more

Helping tend the "new Catholic subculture"

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Russell Shaw explains: Signs of a new Catholic subculture can be seen in things like a handful of proudly orthodox colleges and universities, media ventures like EWTN and Catholic radio, a growing number of websites and periodicals and a few publishing houses, and organizations and movements that work to promote a dynamic Catholic spirituality — especially a spirituality for the laity. Moreover, these things now are happening with the encouragement of a new generation of bishops and priests who have... Read more

The pope was his co-pilot

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Below, John Paul checks out the cockpit on Shepherd I during his first trip to the United States in 1979. One of the pilots for that trip, Nelson Krueger, has published a charming gallery of photos from that trip — which includes a shot of a guitar that the pope used to play “Silent Night” one evening. Check it out. Read more

Worth a thousand words: a Deacon heads to mass

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

That would be Reese Witherspoon’s young son, Deacon Phillippe. (I can’t tell you how often I’ve Googled the word “Deacon” and stories about this kid have popped up. Really. Who’s his agent?) Photographers snapped him — along with his mother, sister and new step-dad — heading to Easter mass at a Catholic church in Santa Monica, California. Read more

Bless this house, O Lord we pray…

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The day after Easter, I stopped by a parishioner’s apartment to perform a favorite ritual, a house blessing. That simple blessing, and all that it means, is the subject of this week’s “All Things New”: Whatever compels people to ask for these blessings, there is in every case a strong desire to make something old new. Especially now, in the weeks following Easter, we want to feel a part of the rebirth that is happening in our Church, and in... Read more

Lila Rose to address National Prayer Breakfast Wednesday

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A young woman who has become a household name in the pro-life movement will be addressing the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast tomorrow. From the Religion News Service and USA TODAY: Anti-abortion activist Lila Rose has shared the stage with Sarah Palin, seen her exploits extolled on Fox News and drawn comparisons to heroic Gentiles who sheltered Jews during the Holocaust. So why are some conservative Christians so uneasy about her work? The telegenic 22-year-old will address the seventh annual National... Read more