BREAKING: Bishop apologizes to Covington students

Last updated on: January 25, 2019 at 5:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: Diocese of Covington Bishop Roger Foys apologized Friday afternoon for issuing a premature statement about a group of Covington Catholic High School students’ interactions with Native American activists Saturday in Washington, D.C. In a letter to Covington Catholic parents, Foys wrote the diocese felt harangued into reacting as quickly as possible to a viral clip of the incident — and then, when additional clips filmed from other perspectives began to circulate, to issuing a just-as-quick retraction of its earlier... Read more

Portland archbishop issues pastoral letter on sacred music, mandating more Gregorian chant, Latin

Last updated on: January 25, 2019 at 12:03 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This popped up on the archdiocesan website this morning: “Sing to the Lord a New Song,” written to the faithful and clergy of the archdiocese by Archbishop Alexander Sample. Some highlights: One parish celebration every Sunday should be a Sung Mass (Missa cantata), offered with consistency and with the greatest care and attention the community can give it. In the former traditional parlance, this may have been referred to as a High Mass. It could also be referred to as... Read more

President Trump nominates deacon to U.S. Court of Appeals

Last updated on: January 25, 2019 at 3:25 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

My friend and legal eagle Tom Zampino alerted me to this bit of news: President Trump this week nominated a deacon from the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Judge Joseph Bianco to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit. I’ve posted on Deacon Bianco in the past: I had the good fortune to meet him [in 2017] when I gave a talk at his parish, St. Peter of Alcantara in Port Washington, New York. Deacon Bianco spoke about his... Read more

Need some good news? Here you go: ‘Why I had to cross the Tiber’

Last updated on: January 24, 2019 at 2:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

You may remember the story of the Episcopal priest Andrew Petiprin and his journey into the Catholic Church. Now, he has published his own account in The Catholic Herald: On the morning of January 1, 2019, my family and I began a new life in the Catholic Church. At Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, my wife and two children and I were received, confirmed and made our first Communion together at St Patrick’s Church in Nashville, Tennessee.... Read more

Congress investigating Twitter account behind the Covington video

Last updated on: January 24, 2019 at 8:44 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The New York Times: Lawmakers are investigating the Twitter account that first shared a video of a group of white teenagers taunting a Native American protester in Washington, a collision of racial groups and politics that went viral. The House Intelligence Committee asked Twitter on Tuesday to provide information about how the video took off so fast. The committee said it was also awaiting information about the account that first uploaded the video and accounts that helped spread it by... Read more

‘Why hasn’t Governor Cuomo been excommunicated?’ — UPDATED

Last updated on: January 24, 2019 at 3:18 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

That question has been a recurring refrain over the last several days—and grew louder after yesterday’s action, signing into law a sweeping bill that essentially allows abortion at any time, even to the last trimester. Cuomo’s own bishop slammed the law in the strongest terms. But some think he has not gone far enough. So they ask: Why hasn’t Cuomo (and other Catholic pols who support abortion) been excommunicated? A few years ago, canon lawyer Ed Peters addressed that: To... Read more

The 71-year-old grandfather who is also a priest: ‘The Lord called me, grabbed me by the hair, but I ran away’

Last updated on: January 23, 2019 at 11:40 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

A great vocation story: Speaking to the Italian television network TV2000, a recently ordained Italian priest named Giuseppe Mangano said, “Our Lord called me many times. I always say, joking, that the Lord called me, that he grabbed me by the hair, but I ran away.” When he says he “ran away,” he’s referring to the fact that in his youth, Giuseppe studied in the seminary, but then felt called to matrimony. He got married, became a father, had grandchildren,... Read more

Meet ABC News’s Paula Faris: ‘My faith is my rock, my glue, my foundation’

Last updated on: January 23, 2019 at 10:32 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

As a former network news guy, I was delighted and grateful to read this profile of another journalist whose faith matters. Great stuff here, via Tony Rossi and The Christophers: ABC News’s Paula Faris seemingly had it all. A great husband, wonderful kids, and high-profile jobs as co-anchor of “Good Morning America’s” weekend edition and co-host of the daily talk show “The View.” But Paula also felt overextended, as if God was telling her that she needed to step back... Read more

Study: few bishops, deacon directors believe Holy See will authorize women deacons

Last updated on: January 22, 2019 at 4:56 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Interesting news from the good people at Crux: A new study released on Tuesday found that a high majority of U.S. Catholic bishops and deacon directors believe that if the Holy See gives the green light to ordination of women deacons, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) would implement the practice. The findings, however, also revealed that among respondents, only 41 percent of bishops and 50 percent of deacon directors believe women’s ordination to the diaconate to be... Read more