Ordination update: 2 new deacons for Juneau

Last updated on: May 30, 2015 at 2:48 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The Diocese of Juneau Facebook page has been updated with fresh pictures from last night’s ordination. I can’t put it better than this: Congratulations to our new Diocese of Juneau deacons, Steve Olmstead and Mike Galbraith, who were ordained by Bishop Edward Burns in a beautiful celebration at St. Paul the Apostle Church last night. May God bless their ministry abundantly! Amen! Congratulations and welcome, brothers! Ad multos annos! (And a grateful diaconal bow to the great deacon’s wife, Paula Gonzales... Read more

Bishop on new deacon: “The most remarkable path of anyone I have ever ordained”

Last updated on: May 30, 2015 at 2:44 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Next step: the priesthood. Details from Arkansas Catholic: “Wait, no, that’s not right.” So said Bishop Anthony B. Taylor during the Promise of Elect, as before him stood Norman McFall, a seminarian over whose diaconate ordination Mass Bishop Taylor was presiding May 20. “That’s the one about celibacy,” Bishop Taylor said, leafing through a large leather-bound book containing the various prayers and charges of ordination. “We’re not doing that one.” The lighthearted gaffe — during which McFall jokingly wiped his... Read more

Homily for May 31, 2015: The Most Holy Trinity

Last updated on: May 30, 2015 at 2:41 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This weekend marks the end of an era, as my old CBS colleague Bob Schieffer makes his last appearance on “Face the Nation.” He’s retiring at the young age of 77, after 46 years at CBS News—capping a career that began as a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in the 1960s. Friday, the New York Times had a long story about Bob and his career. He was the only correspondent in CBS News history to cover every major beat... Read more

Massachusetts high school to be named for Pope Francis

Last updated on: May 30, 2015 at 2:36 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

It’s believed to be a first. Details: The new name of the combining Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic high schools has been announced: Pope Francis High School. The name of the school was chosen by a group of Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic students working with school officials. The recommendation was accepted Friday by Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski. “The students considered many different options but, in the end, thought that a new start was best represented through a brand new name, and what better... Read more

Cardinal Burke compares Irish to the pagans for endorsing gay marriage

Last updated on: May 30, 2015 at 2:31 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The Tablet in the U.K.: Ireland has gone further than paganism and “defied God” by legalising gay marriage, one of the Church’s most senior cardinals has said. Cardinal Raymond Burke, who was recently moved from a senior role in the Vatican to be patron of the Order of Malta, told the Newman Society, Oxford University’s Catholic Society, last night that he struggled to understand “any nation redefining marriage”. Visibly moved, he went on: “I mean, this is a defiance... Read more