With all the hand-wringing this week about women deacons, one significant change to canon law has been largely overlooked. It happened in 2009, when Pope Benedict issued a brief Motu Proprio that clarified the different roles of the three levels of clergy. The pertinent text:  Having heard the views of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and after inquiry among my venerable brethren, the Cardinals of Holy Roman Church in charge of... Read more

From Tulsa:  The Diocese of Tulsa – her priests and deacons, her religious and her lay faithful – give thanks to God and rejoice that His Holiness Pope Francis has named Father David Konderla, 55, as the fourth Bishop of Tulsa. Bishop-Elect Konderla is the second of twelve children, the son of David and the late Ann Konderla. He grew up in Bryan, Texas; graduated from Bryan High School in 1978 and worked for several years as a machinist before entering... Read more

The interwebs today don’t lack for opinions about this issue, now that Pope Francis has decided it needs to be clarified.  Let’s take a deep breath. A couple points need to be made. First, Pope John Paul’s definitive document on Holy Orders refers exclusively to ordaining women as priests.  It concludes: In order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming... Read more

History happened last weekend in Green Bay:  When David Parker informed his eldest child, Legionary Br. David Parker, Jr., that he was pursuing the diaconate again, the son had a question for his father: “How many years do you have in formation?” “When he said five years, I literally started counting on my hands how many years of formation I had left,” said then Br. Parker in an interview with The Compass. “I said, ‘Dad, do you realize what this... Read more

From Fr. James Martin, via Facebook: Huge news. Josh McElwee of NCR and Cindy Wooden of CNS are reporting that Pope Francis has told a gathering of women religious meeting at the Vatican that he will set up a commission to study the question of women deacons. This is not only an idea whose time has come, but a reality recovered from history. Women deacons would be able to baptize, preside at marriages and funerals, and preach during the Mass.... Read more

Salt + Light TV’s Fr. Thomas Rosica yesterday was honored by the Diocese of Brooklyn with the St. Francis DeSales Distinguished Communicator Award as part of the diocese’s annual celebration of World Communications Day. Among other things, Rosica also serves on the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and recently served as media attache for the Synod of Bishops. Here’s part of his remarks in accepting the award: After three years at the helm of the Church, we must ask ourselves: What is the... Read more

A followup to this week’s social media explosion: Singer Lady Gaga has hit back at a Catholic blogger who insinuated she is a hypocrite for sharing her Christian faith while living an “obscene life”. The 30-year-old challenged the author of an article entitled ‘From Lady Gaga to Steph Curry: 5 Things to Remember When Celebrities Share Their Faith’ featured on Catholic Link. The article came days after Lady Gaga posted a photo of herself and a priest sharing the eucharist, thanking him... Read more

The two chatted about When Katie Met Francis last night on “The Late Show,” and the encounter included this insight from Katie: “I was at a scientific conference at the Vatican a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was actually very progressive of the Catholic church to want to understand science….” Someone should tell these guys.  [img attachment=”102460″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”lemaitre-einstein” /] Check out more of the conversation below. Photo: Wikipedia Read more

Details:  Catholic priest removed from churches in metro Detroit after he was accused of sexually abusing a teenager is now the development director of a new Catholic center in Eastpointe he cofounded that counsels pregnant teenagers, prompting calls for him to step down. The Rev. Kenneth Kaucheck, 69, was banned from public ministry by the Archdiocese of Detroit in 2009 after church officials determined he had sexual misconduct in the 1970s with a 16-year-old girl he was counseling as a priest. Kaucheck is now a director at the Gianna... Read more