Pope begins Synod: “The Church is called to carry out her mission in truth, which is not changed by passing fads or popular opinions”

Last updated on: October 4, 2015 at 11:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From his homily this morning: The Church is called to carry out her mission in truth, which is not changed by passing fads or popular opinions. The truth which protects individuals and humanity as a whole from the temptation of self-centredness and from turning fruitful love into sterile selfishness, faithful union into temporary bonds. “Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. In a culture without truth, this is the... Read more

Notre Dame to honor Little Sisters of the Poor

Last updated on: October 4, 2015 at 11:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The press release arrived in my mail box this morning: The Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture will award the 2016 Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal to the Little Sisters of the Poor and their Mother Provincial, Sr. Loraine Marie Maguire. “For more than 175 years, the Little Sisters of the Poor have dedicated their lives to humble service of the most vulnerable among us,” said O. Carter Snead, William P. and Hazel B. White Director of the Notre... Read more

NY Times: “Has the cool pope left the building?”

Last updated on: October 4, 2015 at 6:03 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

That’s the eye-catching question posed at the beginning of this op-ed piece by Peter Manseau in The New York Times. The key to understanding the pontiff, he explains, is his consistency: No matter if in his meeting with Kim Davis we cast Pope Francis as a bumbling victim of his own lieutenants, or a back-room wheeler-dealer unwilling to come clean, in his past complaints about judges meddling in matters constitutional and divine, he already lent support to Ms. Davis’s cause... Read more

Pope begins Synod: “The Church is called to carry out her mission in truth, which is not changed by passing fads or popular opinions”

Last updated on: October 4, 2015 at 9:32 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Notre Dame to honor Little Sisters of the Poor

Last updated on: October 4, 2015 at 8:52 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

New Jersey priest arrested, accused of pointing musket at 8-year-old boy

Last updated on: October 3, 2015 at 11:38 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The New York Daily News: A football loving New Jersey priest was arrested Friday for allegedly pointing a musket at an 8-year-old boy who committed the cardinal sin of cheering for the Dallas Cowboys. Father Kevin Carter, a devout Giants fan, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm after allegedly threatening to shoot the child for rooting for the Giants arch-rivals, authorities said. The 54-year-old pastor, assigned to St. Margaret... Read more

Vatican fires gay priest ahead of Synod—UPDATED

Last updated on: October 3, 2015 at 11:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Fron AP: The Vatican on Saturday fired a monsignor who came out as gay on the eve of a big meeting of the world’s bishops to discuss church outreach to gays, divorcees and more traditional Catholic families. Monsignor Kryzstof Charamsa was a mid-level official in the Vatican’s doctrine office. In newspaper interviews published in Italy and Poland on Saturday, Charamsa said he was happy and proud to be a gay priest, and was in love with a man whom he... Read more

New Jersey priest arrested, accused of pointing musket at 8-year-old boy

Last updated on: October 3, 2015 at 5:31 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Vatican fires gay priest ahead of Synod—UPDATED

Last updated on: October 4, 2015 at 8:35 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

CNN: Pope had private meeting with gay couple during U.S. trip

Last updated on: October 2, 2015 at 11:28 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: The day before Pope Francis met anti-gay county clerk Kim Davis in Washington last week, he held a private meeting with a longtime friend from Argentina who has been in a same-sex relationship for 19 years. Yayo Grassi, an openly gay man, brought his partner, Iwan, as well several other friends to the Vatican Embassy on September 23 for a brief visit with the Pope. A video of the meeting shows Grassi and Francis greeting each other with a warm hug.... Read more