A statement (see below) indicates that same sex marriage was the reason. To wit: “Recent developments in The Episcopal Church with respect to a change in their Canon on marriage represent a fundamental departure from the faith and teaching held by the majority of our Provinces on the doctrine of marriage. Possible developments in other Provinces could further exacerbate this situation.” Details:  The primates of the Anglican Communion have suspended the Episcopal Church from full participation in the life and... Read more

While the world pauses to mourn the passing of Alan Rickman, many have taken note of his stellar turns in “Die Hard” and the Harry Potter movies. Less noted has been his surprising performance in Tim Burton’s 2007 adaption of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.” If you’ve ever wanted to hear Rickman sing, here’s your chance. In the clip below, he arrives at the barber shop of the revenge-seeking Sweeney Todd  (Johnny Depp). Rickman plays the evil Judge Turpin, who decades earlier exiled Todd... Read more

The former head of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese, who resigned last year, is keeping busy:  According to the January 10, 2016 bulletin of Saint Philip Roman Catholic Church in Battle Creek, Michigan, Archbishop Nienstedt has found a job serving as an assistant priest at the parish, which is located in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. Per the Pastor’s Column, Nienstedt will have an office at the parish center, but will be living at the neighboring Church of Saint Joseph. His duties... Read more

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi made a few comments in an interview with Melinda Henneberger that might raise a few eyebrows. From Roll Call: Later this month, it will be 43 years since the Supreme Court handed down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which does not ban the procedure in the third trimester, but does say states may ban it after 24 weeks — the outer edge of viability at the time — to protect fetal life. The Doe... Read more

From The National Catholic Register’s Kevin Burke comes this profile of Deacon Mark Armamentos, in the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois: How did you come to discover God’s call to the Catholic Deaconate? [sic] For a couple of years many people, from various ministries I was involved with, asked me if I considered being a deacon, to which I responded “no”. After a person had asked me a couple times about it, I said I would pray about it, but... Read more

This is the sort of thing more of us need to know about: an example of the breadth and depth of Catholicism, as it’s practiced in a distant corner of Thailand. Here in the U.S., we wring our hands over our posture for the Lord’s Prayer and gnash our teeth over EMHCs and shake our fists at ugly vestments. Step outside, though. Look beyond. Squint and you will see the astonishing beauty contained in the fervent and unflinching piety of people who have... Read more

Here’s an innovative way to build a community and build faith (h/t Sherry Weddell): The parish community of St. Helen in Westfield, NJ has run the ChristLife series several times, hosting over 900 participants through the years! In preparation for the 2015 Christmas season, they created a video of beautiful Discovering Christ testimonies. This video was played at each Christmas Mass to accompany an invitation from Fr. Michael Saporito for their upcoming Discovering Christ course. It’s not uncommon for in-church videos... Read more

Last weekend, I found myself in scenic Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, a leafy suburb of New York City, preaching at six Masses over two days for Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). Our parish: Church of the Presentation. [img attachment=”87511″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”IMG_4378″ /] I traveled with a member of our development team, Chris Kossowski, to talk about our work and, in particular, the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East. The parish is exceptional: dynamic, vibrant, socially... Read more