2015-03-13T16:13:42-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm   By

With all the debate raging in the Catholic world about admitting divorced and remarried Catholics to communion, I couldn’t help but think Pope Francis was trying to telegraph a message in his homily Monday:  In his December 15 homily at Domus Sanctae Marthae, Pope Francis decried the rigidity and lack of principle of the chief priests in the day’s Gospel reading (Mt. 21:23-27) and praised Venerable Pius XII for mitigating the discipline of the Eucharistic fast. The chief priests had “a heart... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:42-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm   By

From CNS:  A massive, detailed Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious ended with a call to the women themselves to continue discerning how best to live the Gospel in fidelity to their orders’ founding ideals while facing steeply declining numbers and a rapidly aging membership.Although initially seen by many religious and lay Catholics as a punitive measure, the apostolic visitation concluded with the publication Dec. 16 of a 5,000-word final report summarizing the problems and challenges the women... Read more

2015-03-13T16:13:43-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm   By

Breaking news this morning from Pakistan:  At least 126 people, most of them children, were killed on Tuesday when Taliban gunmen stormed a school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, taking hundreds of students hostage in the bloodiest insurgent attack in the country in years. Troops surrounded the building and an operation was underway to rescue children still trapped inside, the army said. Hours into the siege, three explosions were heard inside the military-run high school, and a Reuters journalist... Read more

2015-03-13T16:14:16-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:14 pm   By

From Religion News Service:   In the latest clash between the Catholic hierarchy and one of the church’s leading anti-abortion crusaders, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan accused the Rev. Frank Pavone of continuing to stonewall on financial reforms, and Dolan said he is cutting ties with his group, Priests for Life. In a Nov. 20 letter to other U.S. bishops, Dolan said he did not know if the Vatican would now step in to take action against the New York-based priest, who for years has... Read more

2015-03-13T16:14:17-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:14 pm   By

That’s the eye-catching headline of this item in The Washington Post, summarizing a new report from those folks at Pew: A new Pew Research Center survey finds nearly three-quarters of Americans — 73 percent — believe that Jesus was literally born to a virgin. This is especially surprising when you consider that only one third of Americans say that the Bible is the word of God and should be understood literally. In other words, about 40 percent of Americans say the Bible should, in... Read more

2015-03-13T16:14:17-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:14 pm   By

From Catholic San Francisco:  Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is creating a new Office of Catholic Identity Assessment for Catholic high schools starting Jan. 1 – an initiative that may be the first in the country. The office will not only work with the four archdiocesan high schools which fall directly under the archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools, but with the 10 Catholic high schools which are owned by religious communities as well. The office will be led by Melanie Morey,... Read more

2015-03-13T16:14:17-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:14 pm   By

From Vatican Insider:  “When I pray God breathes in me.” This is the opening phrase of the 40-page prayer book signed by Francis and handed out to faithful present in St. Peter’s Square for today’s Angelus and the traditional “Bambinelli Blessing”. The front cover of the booklet published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Vatican publishing house and titled “Prayers” features a 3rd century fresco from the Catacombs of Priscilla, depicting a man who is praying with his arms wide open and... Read more

2015-03-13T16:14:17-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:14 pm   By

Did he bring his red bucket? Details from Vatican Radio: In a first private audience in the Vatican with a Salvation Army general on Friday, Pope Francis said theological differences do not impede the witness of a shared love of God and neighbour. He also spoke of his first encounter, as a 4-year old, with Salvation Army officers which, he said, stirred in him a sense of ecumenical outreach beyond the teachings of the Catholic Church in that era. Greeting... Read more

2015-03-13T16:14:18-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:14 pm   By

Be alert! From Episcopal Rev. Jay Sidebotham Read more

2015-03-13T16:14:18-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:14 pm   By

The past couple of days I found myself on a rare weekend away from my home parish, giving talks at Curé of Ars Catholic Church in Merrick, New York.  I was there with two of my colleagues from CNEWA, Norma Intriago and Chris Kennedy, to raise awareness about the plight of persecuted Christians and enlist support from folks in the pews. I served and preached at all five Masses. Somehow, I’m still standing. It’s a beautiful church that feels bigger than... Read more

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