Want to support a great cause AND celebrate Padre Pio? Check this out.

Last updated on: May 7, 2018 at 12:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The St. Pio Foundation — the guiding force behind the historic tour of Padre Pio’s relics around the United States—is hosting a fundraiser this weekend in Connecticut. Your Humble Blogger will be there to present an award to Bridgeport’s Bishop Frank Caggiano. Come join us! About the foundation: The Saint Pio Foundation is a non-profit charity organization dedicated to the promotion of the spiritual charism of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, universally acclaimed as one of the most venerated contemporary saints... Read more

Where do secular people turn when they need a ritual for modern life? Here.

Last updated on: May 7, 2018 at 11:20 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Now for something different, from The Atlantic: Religions have long been the dominant suppliers of rituals, gamely stepping in with an answer to every question from How do I celebrate the birth of my baby boy?to How can I transfer my own sins onto a live chicken? But in an age of increasing religious disaffiliation, these rituals now feel hollow to millions of people. And even when they don’t, there’s a wide range of new experiences for which the traditional rituals offer no... Read more

Interfaith communion among married couples is already here

Last updated on: May 7, 2018 at 9:41 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

I wasn’t aware of this—and, I suspect, most ordinary Catholics probably aren’t aware of it, either. From CNS: The German bishops are not the only bishops in the world to propose or adopt pastoral guidelines for allowing an Anglican or a Protestant married to a Catholic to receive the Eucharist under certain circumstances. In fact, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity encouraged bishops and bishops’ conferences to develop such guidelines in its 1993 “Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms... Read more

Seattle University removes archbishop’s name from athletic complex

Last updated on: May 7, 2018 at 9:26 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The Seattle Times: Seattle University will remove the name of the late Archbishop Thomas Connolly from its athletics and recreation center because of his role in covering up for a known pedophile priest for years beginning in the 1960s, the university announced Friday. The name change will take effect immediately, a spokesman for the university said Friday. The sports and recreation complex for the school, which is not directly affiliated with the Archdiocese of Seattle, has been named in... Read more

WATCH: The four-year old who is a superhero to the homeless of Alabama

Last updated on: May 7, 2018 at 6:33 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

This is something — from the great Steve Hartman at CBS News: Austin Perine may look like your average 4-year-old. But once a week, he turns into his alter ego: a superhero set on feeding as many homeless people as possible Watch. And be amazed and inspired. Read more

BREAKTHROUGH: Suspect in deacon’s 2017 killing arrested

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

Some may remember this shocking story from last November, about a deacon stabbed to death in a halfway house on Long Island. Now, a breakthrough: The fugitive accused of killing a Long Island deacon last year has been arrested and ordered held without bail. Nassau police say the suspect, 47-year-old Andre Patton, was hiding out in Tennessee and used an alias. He is accused of stabbing 70-year-old Catholic Deacon Patrick Logdson with a kitchen knife multiple times back in... Read more

Hymn of the week: ‘We Are Called’

Last updated on: May 5, 2018 at 10:25 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

I’m away from my parish (again) this weekend, while on vacation in Florida, and we attended Mass Saturday evening at St. Faustina Catholic Church outside Orlando—a cheerful but otherwise unremarkable place located (for now) in the corner of a strip mall, while they raise funds to build a proper parish church. The parish has a lot of nice details that set it apart: the confessional (or reconciliation room) is identified as the “Grotto of Mercy,” and images of Divine Mercy... Read more

What kind of priest is House chaplain Father Patrick Conroy? This kind.

Last updated on: May 5, 2018 at 9:07 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The Washington Post, some very good reporting on a man who has been the center of a storm of controversy this week: During his training to be ordained, Conroy earned not only degrees in theology and philosophy but also a law degree from Saint Louis University, and in the 1980s he worked as both a lawyer and a priest for Native American communities in Washington state. “The charge that he doesn’t know how to provide good pastoral services is... Read more

Report: Saudi Arabia signs deal with Vatican to build churches for Christians—UPDATED

Last updated on: May 8, 2018 at 10:43 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

The Vatican has yet to confirm this report, but if true, it’s huge: In wake of wide Saudi Arabian cultural and social global openness, for the first time in the country’s history it has signed a cooperative agreement with the Vatican to build churches for Christian citizens to advocate the important role of religions and cultures in renouncing violence, extremism, terrorism and achieving security and stability in the world. The agreement was signed by the Secretary General of the Muslim World League... Read more

Pope to German bishops: find ‘unanimous’ decision regarding intercommunion

Last updated on: May 4, 2018 at 6:48 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Vatican News: At a meeting in the Vatican on Thursday, senior Vatican officials and members of the German Bishops conference held a conversation on a set of pastoral guidelines announced in February. The German Bishops’ Conference at the time approved the development of the guidelines, which would potentially broaden permission for non-Catholic Christians who are married to Catholics to receive Holy Communion. According to a statement from the Holy See Press Office, released in the wake of the encounter,... Read more