Death wins: ‘Landslide’ as abortion becomes legal in Ireland

Last updated on: May 26, 2018 at 2:25 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The New York Times: Ireland voted decisively to repeal one of the world’s more restrictive abortion bans, the prime minister said Saturday, sweeping aside generations of conservative patriarchy and dealing the latest in a series of stinging rebukes to the Roman Catholic Church. The surprising landslide cemented the nation’s liberal shift at a time when right-wing populism is on the rise in Europe and the Trump administration is imposing curbs on abortion rights in the United States. In the past three years alone,... Read more

Go with God: Homily for May 27, 2018, Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Last updated on: May 26, 2018 at 9:52 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Years ago, I was in Los Angeles for business for CBS, and they put me up in a very nice hotel: the Beverly Wilshire, right off Rodeo Drive, steps away from some of the most exclusive and expensive stores in the world. The hotel is something of a legend. It may be most famous as the setting for the movie “Pretty Woman.” I have to tell you, I didn’t really fit in. I’m usually a Holiday Inn Express kind of... Read more

Ordination update: 13 new deacons for Savannah—and check out this excellent video!

Last updated on: May 25, 2018 at 6:06 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This is how to cover an ordination. Excellent work by the Diocese of Savannah communications crew! The story also was the lead item in the diocesan newspaper, Southern Cross. Clearly, this is a place that puts a high premium on deacons and values a vocational culture. They know this is big news and are happy to share that with the faithful. I have no doubt the bishop is setting the tone. From Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer’s homily: The Church needs... Read more

‘I had someone else’s life to care about’: mom battling breast cancer refuses to have an abortion

Last updated on: May 25, 2018 at 2:49 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

And now, a year later, she has an amazing story to tell: The joy of a problem-free pregnancy faded to fear when Stacey Johnson felt a lump in her left breast. Yet today, she has a healthy baby boy after seeking a second opinion and putting her trust in The University of Kansas Cancer Center. Stacey’s journey began 10 days after she discovered she was pregnant with her second child. She felt the lump while showering and told her obstetrician... Read more

Boom: This diocese is ordaining its largest class in over 40 years

Last updated on: May 25, 2018 at 6:49 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Some other places are showing an uptick as well. Why is this happening? The vocations director of Fort Wayne-South Bend has some ideas: The five young men who will be ordained as priests June 2 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception — the largest group since 1975 — represent part of a renewed interest in the religious life among young people, the local Catholic diocese’s vocations director said. “I am very proud of the guys we have in seminary... Read more

Running on empty: Rhode Island seminary has no applicants

Last updated on: May 24, 2018 at 2:35 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Disturbing news: Our Lady of Providence Seminary has no men entering its program from Providence Diocese this coming fall but church leaders say it isn’t time to panic just yet. Over the past five years, between two and six men have entered the seminary every fall but that’s not the case this year. “Entering the fall we don’t have any new seminarians applying for the Diocese of Providence, which is rare,” Fr. Chris Murphy, the Catholic Diocese of Providence’s assistant vocation... Read more

Heroes: firemen save tabernacle in New Jersey church fire

Last updated on: May 24, 2018 at 1:57 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Check out this news from Mary Help of Christians Academy in the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey (h/t to ChurchPOP): The fire alarm went off in the Chapel at Mary Help of Christians Academy, 659 Belmont Avenue, North Haledon, NJ at 1:29 am on Friday, May 18th. The four-alarm blaze brought responses from the fire departments of North Haledon, Hawthorne, Franklin Lakes, and Paterson municipalities, and was finally extinguished around 4:00 am. Originally built in 1976 and later renovated in 2016 due to water... Read more

Must-see video: she suffered a stroke—and now her husband is learning how to style her hair for her

Last updated on: May 24, 2018 at 11:28 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

This is just beautiful. Details: An apprentice at a Texas salon filmed a touching scene of a husband taking a crash-course in hair styling because his wife no longer had the fine motor skills after suffering a stroke, the Houston Chronicle reported. Raigen Kelley, 19, an apprentice at the Foundry Salon in New Braunfels, Texas, posted the video on her Facebook page. “Proof that true love really exists,” she wrote. “From products, to the way you hold the brush and dryer…truly one... Read more

Ordination update: 14 new deacons in Syracuse

Last updated on: May 24, 2018 at 5:34 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The Catholic Sun: Fourteen men were ordained to the Order of Deacon in a unique celebration at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception May 19: Bishop Robert J. Cunningham ordained ten men as permanent deacons to serve in the Diocese of Syracuse; one man as a permanent deacon to serve in the Diocese of Tucson, Ariz.; and three men as transitional deacons for the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ. “With great joy, we welcome you to the Cathedral of the Immaculate... Read more

Lino Rulli writes: ‘My heart is in the right place, even when the comedy isn’t’

Last updated on: May 23, 2018 at 9:51 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

After the recent post about his show caused a stir—and some acrimony on social media—Lino Rulli sent me a text on Facebook. He wanted to express his concern about how the segment with the deacon candidate was received. “I feel bad it pained a lot of people,” he wrote. Lino said he wanted to offer “a sincere apology to those who are upset,” adding that Father Jim had been getting a lot of heat for the segment, and was taking... Read more