They came from Chief Justice John Roberts, at his address to graduates at Cardigan Mountain School on June 3: From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope you will suffer betrayal, because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time, so that you don’t take... Read more

From CNA: The Vatican announced Saturday that as Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s term as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith comes to an end, the Pope has not renewed it, but has appointed Jesuit Archbishop Luis Ladaria to take his place. The decision was officially published in a July 1 communique from the Vatican, which stated the Holy Father’s thanks to Cardinal Müller for his term. July 2nd marks the end of Müller’s five-year mandate as prefect... Read more

Multiple sources are reporting it, but so far no one is officially confirming the reports:  Late Friday evening, as multiple news outlets were reporting that Pope Francis has not reconfirmed Cardinal Müller as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the end of his five-year mandate, the Vatican remained silent. The news was first reported by the blog Rorate Caeli, which has frequently criticized Pope Francis. Despite queries to the Vatican press office, neither a statement... Read more

No Clydesdales. No sleigh bells.  Just a lot of heart. Take a moment and watch. This is tied in with the company’s support of the Folds of Honor program, which offers scholarships to America’s fallen and disabled service veterans. Read more

The new archbishops received the pallium today; a video report above explains the importance of this gesture. But what caught my eye was this interesting detail from CNS’s report: In what has become the standard practice, the pope did not place the pallium on new archbishops during the liturgy. Rather, after the Mass, the pope handed each archbishop a pallium folded up in a small, simple wooden box tied with a brown ribbon as a soloist sang “You Got to... Read more

He explains:  When it came to choosing a primary school for my five children, one thing was clear in my mind: I wanted them to have a broad and inclusive education which allowed them to mix with a wide variety of children. That’s why I decided to send them to a Catholic school. I was lucky enough to have a range of very good secular primary schools near me. But the one problem was that the pupils there were practically... Read more

From AFP: An ivory-coloured rosary swings from the rear-view mirror of Abboud Seryan’s pickup truck as he speeds through Syria’s Raqa, inspecting the positions of fellow Christian fighters taking on the Islamic State group. Lively music blasts through the car speakers while the thin 23-year-old, wearing a military-style cap and a revolver tucked into his waist, waves to comrades in the western district of Al-Romaniya. IS was ousted from the neighbourhood earlier this month as part of the US-backed offensive... Read more

I posted about this rare vocation a few days ago. Now, the award-winning videographer Katie Rutter has posted video from the ceremony. Check it out above. Chances are you have never seen anything quite like it before. You can also read a full report here.  Read more

Seriously:  A man yelled “Freedom!” as he crashed his vehicle into Arkansas’ new Ten Commandments monument early Wednesday, nearly three years after he was arrested in the destruction of Oklahoma’s monument at its state Capitol, authorities said. The privately funded Arkansas monument had been in place outside the state Capitol in Little Rock for less than 24 hours before it was knocked from its plinth and smashed to pieces. Michael Tate Reed, 32, of Van Buren, Arkansas, was booked in... Read more

Pretty well, according to Pittsburgh Catholic: Deacon Rick Tucek built a 30-year career in business before his ordination six years ago. Today he uses his experience in finance and faith to serve the people of St. Bede Parish in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood. One of three deacon administrators working in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Deacon Tucek assists Father Edward Bryce, longtime former pastor of St. Bede, by providing dayto- day oversight of parish operations along with service at the altar,... Read more