He elaborates in his new book: Interviewing Pope Francis in July, Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli asked the pope how he might act as a confessor to a gay person in light of his now famous remarks in a press conference in 2013, when he asked: “Who am I to judge?” Francis’ reply appears in a new book The Name of God is Mercy to be released Tuesday. “On that occasion I said this: If a person is gay and seeks... Read more

Addressing news about a church cantor who was terminated after entering into a gay marriage, Washington’s Cardinal Wuerl posted this on his blog: Recently you may have heard stories in the news about how the employment of a person in public ministry at a local parish was no longer possible when he indicated that he would continue to openly live in contradiction to what the Church proclaims as true, specifically a civil “same-sex marriage.” Since mercy is at the heart... Read more

I’ve written glowingly in the past about the altar servers at my parish—and even posted some advice from an expert about how to launch a thriving program—but I’m pleased to see some attention being given to our neighbors upstate, who are having similar success. From The Evangelist in Albany: Immaculate Conception parish in Glenville is bursting at the seams with altar servers. While some parishes struggle to get girls and boys to volunteer as altar servers, Immaculate Conception currently has more than 50 young... Read more

It doesn’t get more evil than this: An Islamic State militant killed his own mother in front of a post office in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa this week, Syrian activists said on Friday, with one monitoring organization adding that the episode began when she tried to persuade him to leave the extremist group. The fighter, Ali Saqr, 21, killed his mother in front of several hundred people for what the Islamic State called apostasy, according to the Syrian... Read more

It happened at Our Lady of Hope parish. Details:  Sal Vasquez said he wasn’t surprised the church and it’s buildings were vandalized, since it has happened in the past. What surprised and upset him was the nature of the symbols spray-painted on the walls – and that they disturbed a funeral service Friday morning, Jan. 8, for a parish member. “(The deceased’s family) is feeling enough pain today,” said Vasquez, the church’s maintenance worker. Vasquez said he believes the church... Read more

Interesting:  The Roman Catholic Church has loaned the head of the pastoral staff associated with Pope Gregory – who sent Augustine on his historic mission to England in the 6th century – to Canterbury where Anglican Primates will gather next week. The carved ivory head of the crosier will be placed in the Crypt at Canterbury Cathedral, where the Primates will be meeting privately to reflect and pray about the future of the Anglican Communion. Pope Gregory sent Augustine on a... Read more

The number is small, according to Pew, but it is growing: Pew Research Center estimates that there were about 3.3 million Muslims of all ages living in the United States in 2015. This means that Muslims made up about 1% of the total U.S. population (about 322 million people in 2015), and we estimate that that share will double by 2050. Our new estimate of Muslims and other faiths is based on a demographic projectionthat models growth in the American Muslim population since... Read more

Here’s a bold and innovative way to educate young Catholics in the 21st century, thanks to the modern media savvy of Burlington’s Bishop Christopher Coyne: Leland Gazo goes to Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington and appreciates the Catholic school experience. “My two years at a public school compared to a Catholic institution like Rice, the one thing I noticed– the kids seem to be more connected,” said Gazo, a senior. Members of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington say they... Read more