The press release: Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump will be the speakers for this year’s 71st annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, to be held Thursday, October 20, 2016 in the Grand Ballroom of New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The presidential nominees will share the dais with Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, and they will deliver the evening’s keynote speeches in the spirit of collegiality and good-humor that has become a hallmark of the gala. In keeping... Read more

At long last: Paramount announced Monday that it will release the Martin Scorcese’s passion project “Silence” on December 23. The story — which the auteur of such classics as “Goodfellas” and “Taxi Driver” has been trying to get off the ground for two decades — follows Jesuit priests in 17th-century Japan as they face violence and persecution. It stars Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield, and Adam Driver. Paramount will first release the movie in limited release on December 23 to qualify it... Read more

From AFP: Cars used by Pope Francis in Poland during the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day festival went under the hammer Monday to raise funds for Syrian refugees. The Polish chapter of the Catholic charity Caritas is auctioning off the three vehicles used by the pontiff in July, with online bidding to continue until October 9. “In accordance with the wishes of Pope Francis, the profits will go towards the purchase of a mobile clinic for treating Syrian refugees in... Read more

From Dallas, their announcement: Pope Francis has named the pastor of St. Rita Catholic Church in Dallas, Reverend Monsignor (pronounced Mon-senior) Robert Coerver (pronounced curve-er), to serve as the new Bishop of Lubbock.  The appointment was announced today in Washington, D.C. by the papal nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, followed by the announcement in the Diocese of Lubbock. With the appointment, Reverend Monsignor Coerver will become the third bishop of the Diocese of Lubbock.  Monsignor Coerver says he... Read more

From the pope’s homily today: What should you do when you or a friend or loved one are experiencing spiritual darkness due to a family tragedy, illness, or something that is weighing you down? Today, Pope Francis said that prayer is the way to overcome our darkest moments, rather than resorting to pills or drink to escape the reality of our troubles. His comments came during his homily at Holy Mass this morning in the chapel of his residence at Santa Marta. Commenting... Read more

This has been circulating on Aleteia, an explanation from the Rev. Henry Vargas Holguin that was first published last year: The practice of holding hands while praying the Our Father comes from the Protestant world. The reason is that Protestants do not have the Real Presence of Christ; that is to say, they do not have real and valid sacramental Communion that joins them among themselves and with God. Therefore, they turn to the gesture of holding hands as a... Read more

The folks at Our Sunday Visitor asked me to write a few words about my vocation journey, and it’s just been published: On a cool May morning in 2007, I found myself in the last place I ever expected to be: face down on the hard floor of a Catholic basilica, as a choir chanted the Litany of the Saints and I received the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Moments later, the bishop’s hands rested on my head and I became, incredibly,... Read more

From The Catholic Herald:  Mark Wahlberg is an unusual figure in Hollywood: an acting superstar who says “Being a Catholic is the most important aspect of my life”, and that he can’t start the day without 10 minutes of prayer. Now he is preparing for his most Catholic role yet: he will play Fr Stuart Long, an American priest and former boxer who died in 2014 at the age of 50. Wahlberg announced on Wednesday that he is teaming up... Read more