Details:  Hamel, who was born in 1930, was “a good priest…discrete. He was quiet, didn’t like attention,” said Father John Hogan, OCDS, a Secular Discalced Carmelite priest. “He assumed his duties to the end. He was well-liked. It seems he was a simple, faithful priest, quietly serving God and his people,” the priest tweeted. A woman who works at a local beauty parlour, Eulalie Garcia, said she had known the priest since her childhood. “My family has lived here for... Read more

Awful news this morning, from the The Daily Mail:  A priest has been butchered by two ‘Islamic’ knifemen who cut his throat after bursting into a French church and taking nuns and worshippers hostage before being shot dead by police. Five people including the priest, two nuns and two parishioners were held by assailants who raided the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near the city of Rouen in Normandy at 9am. The clergyman was knifed to death during the attack while another... Read more

This statement from the the bishop of Diocese of Richmond is dated Friday: Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo Statement Regarding Catholics in Public Office The Catholic Church makes its position very clear as it pertains to the protection of human life, social justice initiatives, and the importance of family life. From the very beginning, Catholic teaching informs us that every human life is sacred from conception until natural death. The right to life is a fundamental, human right for the unborn and... Read more

Details:  A 48-year-old Iraqi man has been arrested on charges of possessing explosives in Poland. The arrest in Lodz comes just days ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to Poland for World Youth Day. Small amounts of explosives, “not sufficient to make an explosion” were found on the man, according to Beata Marczak, spokeswoman for prosecutors in the central Polish city of Lodz said. He could face up to eight years in prison if convicted on charges of illegal possession of... Read more

Check this out, from National Catholic Register:  New York Mets slugger Mike Piazza was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday with an emotional speech before 50,000 people in Cooperstown, NY. His day began early with 7:30 Mass at St. Mary’s Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, a short walk from the Hall of Fame. As he left the church, he met with a beaming Father John Rosson, who said, “We have a celebrity in church this morning.”  Piazza asked for and received a special blessing from the priest. Piazza... Read more

A short time ago, I posted on Facebook this little item, about the first US-approved commercial drone delivery. (It happened last week. It was from 7-11 and involved donuts. Enough said.) A priest commented that he heard about a church wedding recently that used a drone. That led me on a quick Google search, which led to lots of photography studios offering to incorporate drones for wedding videos. (I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of that in Catholic weddings.... Read more

From The New York Times:  As the seconds ticked away, the timekeeper cast her eyes across a student lounge on the Notre Dame campus here and announced it was time for the speed daters to change partners. So April Adalim, 24, got up and moved to a tall chair at a round table across from her newest suitor: a graying, bespectacled woman in a religious habit, Sister Theresa Sullivan of the Daughters of Charity.  In this version of courtship, Ms.... Read more

From The Richmond Times-Dispatch:  Less than 24 hours after being introduced as Hillary Clinton’s running mate before several thousand people in Miami and millions more on television, Tim Kaine went to church. Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, attended Mass at Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church in Highland Park early Sunday. Kaine, who’s heading to Philadelphia this week for the Democratic National Convention before beginning to traverse the country in his and Clinton’s race for the White House, did not speak... Read more

Details:  After receiving a complaint, the Holtville High School band won’t be allowed to perform “Amazing Grace” during the upcoming football season. In a statement to the Elmore & Autauga News, the Elmore County Board of Education said legal counsel recommended that the religious-themed song be pulled from the band’s repertoire following the complaint. “Our Constitution prohibits us from promoting religion in our educational programs and activities,” the statement read, in part. “While we understand the feelings of the parents who are unhappy... Read more