Is this the best dam basketball shot ever? Yes.

Last updated on: June 16, 2015 at 1:57 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Literally. Behold something truly jaw-dropping: a 415-foot swish through a hoop from atop a dam in Tasmania. If confirmed by Guinness, it will be a world record. The Australian group behind it, How Ridiculous, has a method to their madness—and it’s rooted in the gospel: In the YouTube description, How Ridiculous says it may be aiming for even greater heights. “Next stop: The Burj Al Arab Helicopter Pad? Or the Burj Khalifa?” How Ridiculous partners with Compassion, a Christian aid organization, to help children... Read more

Pew survey: Catholics divided over global warming

Last updated on: June 16, 2015 at 12:11 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

View image | gettyimages.com Details: On the eve of a forthcoming encyclical by Pope Francis on the environment and climate change, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that U.S. Catholics’ views on global warming are broadly reflective of American public opinion writ large; a solid majority believe that Earth is warming, but there is much more division over the cause and seriousness of climate change. Moreover, the poll shows that climate change is a highly politicized issue that sharply... Read more

Vatican adds Carolyn Woo of CRS to list of presenters on new encyclical

Last updated on: June 16, 2015 at 12:02 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Catholic Culture notes: The Holy See Press Office has announced that Carolyn Woo, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, will be among the four presenters at the releases of Pope Francis’s second encyclical, Laudato Si. The press office previously announced the names of three presenters: Cardinal Peter Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Orthodox Archbishop John Zizioulas of Pergamon, who will represent the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople; and Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, the director of the... Read more

Holy See pulls press credentials for prominent Vatican journalist over encyclical leak

Last updated on: June 16, 2015 at 10:06 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

This news broke this morning on Twitter, following yesterday’s leak of a draft of the new encyclical: Sandro Magister of @espressonline loses his @HolySeePress credentials for disclosing embargoed draft of Encyclical. pic.twitter.com/gcaINTv5eh — Fr. Manuel Dorantes (@TweetingPriest) June 16, 2015 Details (roughly translated): In a press release, Federico Lombardi reported that he was withdrawing the press accreditation of Sandro Magister to access the Press Room of the Vatican for “publishing a draft encyclical the Pope.” Lombardi has argued that the... Read more

Holy See pulls press credentials for prominent Vatican journalist over encyclical leak

Last updated on: June 16, 2015 at 8:33 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

This news broke this morning on Twitter, following yesterday’s leak of a draft of the new encyclical: Details (roughly translated): In a press release, Federico Lombardi reported that he was withdrawing the press accreditation of Sandro Magister to access the Press Room of the Vatican for “publishing a draft encyclical the Pope.” Lombardi has argued that the draft was under embargo and publication damages the image of the journalistic profession. Sandro Magister received the text as a leak and decided to... Read more

Ordination update: 6 new deacons for Bridgeport

Last updated on: June 15, 2015 at 4:19 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the Fairfield County Catholic, news of Bishop Frank Caggiano’s first diaconate ordination in Bridgeport: “We come here with awesome joy,” Bishop Frank J. Caggiano said just before he ordained six men as deacons for the Diocese of Bridgeport. “Our hearts are filled with joy because you have said ‘Yes’ to the Lord.” More than 500 priests, brother deacons, family and friends filled St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Fairfield for the ordination of Anthony Caraluzzi of Bethel, Jeffrey Font of Brookfield, John... Read more

French Muslim leader: turn empty Catholic churches into mosques

Last updated on: June 15, 2015 at 3:04 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: France’s top Muslim official has suggested turning empty or abandoned Catholic churches into mosques, saying as many as 5,000 are needed for the country’s Muslim population – the largest in Europe. “It’s a delicate issue, but why not?” Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque in Paris and the president of the French Council of Muslim Faith, told Europe 1 radio on Monday. There are currently about 2,500 mosques in France with another 300 under construction, but the number falls... Read more

The year’s best song title?

Last updated on: June 15, 2015 at 9:47 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Well, this gets my vote. From Keith Urban, but written by Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman and Josh Osborne: “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16″ Key lyric: “I spent a lot of years runnin’ from believing / Looking for other ways to try to save my soul / The longer I live the more I see it / There’s only one way home.” As my blog neighbor Tony Rossi pointed out, Keith Urban is Catholic. Urban sings here that “I learned everything... Read more

BREAKING: Archbishop of St. Paul resigns—UPDATED

Last updated on: June 15, 2015 at 9:40 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From AP: The archbishop of St. Paul, Minnesota, and a deputy bishop have resigned after prosecutors there charged the archdiocese with having failed to protect children from unspeakable harm from a pedophile priest. The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis accepted the resignations of Archbishop John Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche. They resigned under the code of canon law that allows bishops to resign before they retire because of illness or some other “grave” reason that makes them... Read more

French Muslim leader: turn empty Catholic churches into mosques

Last updated on: June 15, 2015 at 9:31 am By Deacon Greg Kandra