Ordination update: 12 new deacons for Orlando—UPDATED

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 1:40 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

It happened last weekend, at the Basilica Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. Bishop John Noonan wrote about deacons for the diocesan paper, noting “Each yes to the permanent diaconate is grace-filled.” Unfortunately, coverage of the ordination is not available in the current online edition of Florida Catholic. (Presumably, it will be included in the next issue.) But you can read the full text of the bishop’s column here. Photographs are from the diocesan Facebook page. You can see more... Read more

One more reason why Catholic schools rock

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 1:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Places like this: A California high school has beat the odds, sending all its graduating seniors off to college for the seventh straight year, despite being located in a neighborhood riddled with crime and plagued with gangs. “It’s not Beverly Hills by any stretch,” said Paul Hosch, vice president of mission advancement at Verbum Dei High School, which boasts a 100 percent college acceptance rate. “The neighborhoods that surround the students are underserved. There are very few grocery stores. There... Read more

Deacon Sal Alvarez, RIP — UPDATED

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A giant is gone: A career that started in academia and then embraced the teachings of Jesus, Mohandas Gandhi and Cesar Chavez — a life’s work honored by the Vatican in 2011 — ended on Sunday when Salvador E. Alvarez died at home in San Jose after a long, debilitating illness. He was 74. Soon after he was born with a club foot in Santa Maria in 1940, Alvarez’s Mexican immigrant parents moved the family to Mountain View so he... Read more

Pope to meet publicly with married gay activist at roundtable next month

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 1:23 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: Pope Francis is slated to hold his first public meeting with a married gay activist during a visit to Paraguay in July. The activist is Simón Cazal, executive director of the Paraguayan LGBT rights group SOMOSGAY, who married another SOMOSGAY activist, Sergio López, in neighboring Argentina in 2012. Though the pope has reportedly held pastoral meetings with some LGBT people, this meeting marks the first time he will publicly meet with an LGBT political activist. Cazal received an invitation on... Read more

One more reason why Catholic schools rock

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 1:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Pope to priests: “A Church where no discussions take place is a dead Church” — UPDATED

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 1:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

He gave a remarkable talk today to priests gathered in Rome — most of it unscripted. It sounds like it was extraordinary, in every sense. Catholic News Service has a good Twitter overview right here. (It includes at the bottom the full video.) And Rome Reports offers this brief report that gives a sense of the event. UPDATE: Vatican Radio has a full write-up—and translates the pope’s quote as “A Church without quarrels is a dead church.” Read on here. Read more

Cardinal Sarah endorses facing East, suggests appendix to Roman Missal

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 12:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: Paying tribute to the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy as a liturgical “Magna Carta,” Cardinal Robert Sarah called for a more faithful implementation of its text, lamented misinterpretations of its teaching on “active participation,” and suggested an appendix to the Roman Missal that might better manifest the continuity of the extraordinary and ordinary forms of the celebration of the Mass. “The liturgy is essentially the action of Christ,” the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship... Read more

Ordination update: 12 new deacons for Orlando—UPDATED

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 2:43 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Abu Dhabi opens second Catholic church

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 9:05 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

You may remember this item from a few days back. Now, it’s official: A second catholic church in Abu Dhabi was inaugurated on Thursday evening in the presence of Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister for Culture, Youth and Community Development, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state and Bishop Paul Hinder, the apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia. The new St. Paul church of Roman Catholic faith is a 4,560 square metres complex built on a land... Read more

Irish bishop seeks discussion on ordaining married men as priests, women as deacons

Last updated on: June 11, 2015 at 10:07 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From CNS: An Irish bishop urged his colleagues to establish a commission to discuss the possibility of ordaining married men. Bishop Leo O’Reilly of Kilmore also wants the Irish bishops’ conference to empower the commission to further study female deacons. The proposal stemmed from a 10-month listening process that O’Reilly led in the Kilmore Diocese, which led to a diocesan assembly and a new diocesan pastoral plan to tackle challenges facing the Catholic Church, including the declining number of priests.... Read more