Shock: 10 Catholic Churches Attacked in France in One Week

Last updated on: March 21, 2019 at 11:58 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: At least 10 incidents of vandalism and desecration of Catholic churches have been reported across the Channel since the beginning of February. French Roman-Catholic newspaper La Croix International reported how the attacks on churches took place across France. Senseless acts included the desecration of altars, the defacing of Christ on the cross and in an extreme case, human excrement being spread across the walls of a holy place of worship. According to the outlet, one of the first attacks... Read more

WATCH: Pete Buttigieg on Faith, Servant Leadership and the Imitation of Christ

Last updated on: March 20, 2019 at 6:32 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This is something you don’t hear every day from a politician. So, when this crossed my Facebook feed this afternoon I sat up and took notice. Here’s the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg — a very young, progressive, gay (he has a husband) Democrat — who is exploring running for president. I can’t imagine he’ll get far; and certainly, for Catholics, his positions are opposed to Church teaching on many critical issues, including abortion. But…he spoke today on... Read more

It’s Here: ‘The Busy Person’s Guide to Prayer’

Last updated on: March 20, 2019 at 12:47 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Want to kickstart your Lent? Boost your prayer life? Support your local blogging deacon? I’m pleased and humbled to announce that the good people at Word Among Us have just published my new book, “The Busy Person’s Guide to Prayer.” From the introduction: Let’s face it: in a world where soccer practice, work, the gym, PTA meetings, school projects, Twitter, and Netflix dominate our lives, it can be challenging and seemingly impossible to find time to pray. There are deadlines... Read more

Archbishop Responds to Uproar Over Child with Gay Parents

Last updated on: March 20, 2019 at 9:02 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

You probably caught this story last week. Now, Archishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, has responded, through a column in his diocesan newspaper: The decision not to admit the child of a non-Catholic same-sex couple to St. Ann Catholic School in Prairie Village has unfortunately garnered quite a bit of local and some national media attention. Not surprisingly, the secular media has been very negative in their portrayal of the decision. Some St. Ann parishioners, as well as many more... Read more

Boom: Spain Sees Jump in Ordinations to Priesthood

Last updated on: March 19, 2019 at 4:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From CNS: Ordinations to the priesthood in Spain have soared by 24 percent in the last year. In 2018, a total of 135 men were ordained priests compared to 109 in 2017, according to statistics released March 12 by the Spanish bishops’ conference. The Archdiocese of Madrid recorded the highest number of ordinations, with 14. The Diocese of Valencia recorded 10 ordinations, followed by eight in the Diocese of Toledo, seven each in the dioceses of Seville and Alcala de... Read more

BREAKING: Lawsuit Accuses Former Bishop, Charges He ‘Knowingly Employed Pedophiles’

Last updated on: March 19, 2019 at 12:00 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The Washington Post: West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey Wednesday sued the Catholic diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and its former bishop, Michael J. Bransfield, charging that they “knowingly employed pedophiles and failed to conduct adequate background checks” for people working in Catholic schools and camps, a Morrisey press release says. Some experts on child abuse said the move was precedent-setting. “This is the most that we’ve seen so far in terms of prosecution, in terms of someone in the higher... Read more

Beautiful: Pittsburgh Jewish Group Creates Fund to Support New Zealand Muslims

Last updated on: March 19, 2019 at 11:30 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: With the shock still fresh and hearts still mending some five months after the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Squirrel Hill, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh has set up a relief fund to help the Muslim community in the wake of another deadly hate crime. The group is soliciting donations to the New Zealand Attack Emergency Relief Fund following Friday’s terror attack at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand that killed 50 people and injured dozens more.... Read more

Why Doesn’t the Slaughter of Christians Get More Media Attention?

Last updated on: March 19, 2019 at 9:13 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Several Facebook friends were wondering about this recently, and then this item popped up in my feed. While I’m not convinced there is overt bias against Christians or Christianity — my experience in the news business tells me otherwise — I do think much of what Thomas Williams says here is spot on: Since, in point of fact, Muslim radicals kill Christians around the world with alarming frequency, it is probable that one more slaughter did not seem particularly newsworthy to... Read more

RIP Deacon Boniface Perdjert, Australia’s First Indigenous Permanent Deacon

Last updated on: March 19, 2019 at 6:50 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Facebook page: The Catholic Bishops of Australia have paid tribute to the deep spirituality and decades of service of Deacon Boniface Perdjert following his death on Monday. Deacon Boniface was the first Indigenous permanent deacon to be ordained in Australia following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, but was also an Indigenous senior elder of the Kardu Diminin clan and the traditional owner of the land on which the town of Wadeye (Port Keats)... Read more

St. Joseph, Saint for Our Age of Anxiety

Last updated on: March 19, 2019 at 12:09 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the vault: A couple years ago, I preached on St. Joseph during Advent and reflected on a painting by James Tissot, “The Anxiety of St. Joseph:” We tend to think of Joseph the way we see him in the manger scene outside our church, or on the cards we send, or the pageants that are staged. He is strong, stoic, patient – “righteous,” as Matthew describes him. But Tissot understood that the man betrothed to Mary was a man of worries,... Read more