From International Business Times: Acting on a tip from the FBI, Italian authorities arrested four people in Italy and Kosovo Tuesday who were suspected of planning an attack on Pope Francis, the Local reported. The seat of the Roman Catholic Church is the Vatican, situated just outside of Rome, where security has been high since the Islamic terror organization known as the Islamic State group, ISIS or Daesh, threatened attacks on the Italian capital. All four people arrested by police during... Read more

Three years ago, a tornado tore through Ridgway, Illinois and destroyed the town’s Catholic church. [img attachment=”80500″ align=”aligncenter” size=”medium” alt=”editedaltar” /] All that survived was the altar. At the time, Deacon Bill Johnson sent me pictures and news: You will notice the Italian marble altar that was miraculously spared.  Work is underway to salvage the altar by first protecting it from the elements, and then having it dismantled piece by piece. Thankfully, the parish priest (administrator) Father Steve Beatty, who lives in the... Read more

Whatever one may think of his politics, this much is clear: Marco Rubio is comfortable talking about his faith.  (Although whether that faith is Catholic or something else is harder to pin down.) Snip:  Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio was asked if he goes to God for counsel when encountering difficult decisions. Rubio took the opportunity to elaborate on his relationship with faith and peace. “You know, I’d love to tell you absolutely all the time. I should and I... Read more

Check out these highlights, via Rome Reports, from the pope’s final Mass in Africa,at the Barthelemy Boganda Stadium in Bangui, CAR. It kicks off with a deacon receiving the Book of the Gospels—and the celebratory atmosphere never lets up. This is our faith. Further proof, if any were needed, that we are Easter people! Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images Read more

This story is making the rounds of social media: the reaction of a college student to a sermon that he said made him feel bad.  To which Dr. Everett Piper, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, replied, in effect: “Tough.” His full response is reprinted below, from the university website:  This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt “victimized” by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13.... Read more

An interesting development, from CNN:  Thus far, many English translations of the Quran have been ill-suited to foiling extremist ideology or introducing Americans to Islam. Even after 9/11, when interest surged and publishers rushed Qurans to the market, few of the 25 or so available in English are furnished with helpful footnotes or accessible prose. Meanwhile, Christians or Jews may pick up a Quran and find their worst fears confirmed. “I never advise a non-Muslim who wants to find out... Read more

This morning, Aleteia’s Diane Montagna has some insight from two leading cardinals, responding to suggestions that Catholics and Lutherans might be able to share communion under some circumstances. Among other things, Cardinal Robert Sarah explains: “Intercommunion is not permitted between Catholics and non-Catholics. You must confess the Catholic Faith. A non-Catholic cannot receive Communion. That is very, very clear. It’s not a matter of following your conscience.” “Sometimes, an Anglican who is very far away from his church for a very... Read more

This debuted in September but finally crossed my radar screen. I suspect we will be seeing this in U.S. movie theaters sometime next year. Read more