Details:  Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Henryk Hoser of Warsaw-Prague, Poland, to be the Holy See’s special envoy to Medjugorje, the Vatican announced today. In a statement, the Vatican said Archbishop Hoser’s mission “has the aim of acquiring a deeper knowledge of the pastoral situation there and above all, of the needs of the faithful who go there in pilgrimage, and on the basis of this, to suggest possible pastoral initiatives for the future.” It added: “The mission will therefore... Read more

From the The Catholic Sun in Phoenix: Msgr. Peter Dai Bui, who became pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in December after serving five years in the Roman Curia, has been appointed Theological Consultant to the Bishops for the Diocese of Phoenix. In a letter to diocesan personnel, Fr. Fred Adamson, vicar general, said Msgr. Bui will “collaborate and advise the bishops and key members of the Curia on pertinent matters of theology, doctrine and pastoral practice.” “It’s mainly to support... Read more

From John Allen yesterday, quoting something New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan said in an interview in 2009: “My dad was a very upbeat guy, with a tremendous sense of humor, who would always see the best in people. The kind of people that others didn’t get along with, he liked. It was almost like he wanted to give them a chance … Dad’s philosophy of life was that if you can get somebody on a lawn chair, outside on a Sunday,... Read more

Interesting item that offers some novel ideas on preaching, from The Christian Science Monitor: After a week of painting art by day and playing saxophone in a funk band by night, Katie Runde still manages to roust herself for church. One big reason: On any given Sunday, she’s either giving the sermon at Christ Episcopal Church in this central Vermont town, or she’s listening as a friend takes a turn from the pulpit. As two dozen people gather for worship... Read more

Details from Catholic News Agency:  A week after Hispanic Catholics experienced racial harassment and taunts from a group of men during a Spanish Mass, the local community in Portland, Oregon sprang into action to show their support for the churchgoers. Despite the chill and the rain, an estimated 200-300 people created a human barrier on Sunday, Feb. 5, protecting parishioners of St. Peter Catholic Church from possible harassment. It was a different scene than what had greeted parishioners the week... Read more

From CNN: Excavations on the storied Judean cliffside revealed a new Dead Sea Scrolls cave, full of scroll storage jars and other antiquities, the first such discovery in over 60 years. The discovery upends a decades-old theory in the archaeological community that Dead Sea Scrolls were only found in certain caves at the Qumran cliffs, which are managed by Israel in the West Bank. “Until now, it was accepted that Dead Sea Scrolls were found only in 11 caves at... Read more

An extraordinary story, from The Los Angeles Times:  The children were going to die. Mohamed Bzeek knew that. But in his more than two decades as a foster father, he took them in anyway — the sickest of the sick in Los Angeles County’s sprawling foster care system. He has buried about 10 children. Some died in his arms. Now, Bzeek spends long days and sleepless nights caring for a bedridden 6-year-old foster girl with a rare brain defect. She’s blind and deaf.... Read more

From The New York Times: Alec McCowen, the acclaimed British character actor whose gallery of roles on both sides of the Atlantic ranged from St. Mark to the Fool in “King Lear,” and from Rudyard Kipling to James Bond’s ever-inventive outfitter, Q, died on Monday at his home in London. He was 91. A nephew, the Rev. Nigel Mumford, confirmed the death. Over the course of a protean half-century career in film, television and theater, Mr. McCowen’s greatest triumphs were... Read more

Now for something completely different, from the pages of the Hollywood Reporter:  Theodore Melfi leaped onto Hollywood’s A-list with the triumph of Hidden Figures, the story of three African-American women who each played a key role in NASA’s space program (a film he chose to helm over “Spider-Man: Homecoming”), which has topped $119 million at the domestic box office. This success is the least surprising thing about the 46-year-old writer-director who, as he celebrates his film’s nomination for best picture... Read more

From The Catholic Herald:  On March 13, Anglican choral Evensong will be celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican for the first time. The Evensong comes five months after Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby celebrated Vespers together at the Basilica of San Gregorio al Celio to mark the Anglican Centre’s fiftieth anniversary. From the Anglican statement:  Permission for this unique occasion was granted by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica, during a recent meeting with Archbishop... Read more