2016-09-30T15:59:21-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

From CNN:  Pope Francis put the ideals of professionalism, service and holiness to the fore Saturday in his first Christmas message to the Curia, the Roman Catholic Church’s governing body. The Roman Curia, which includes Vatican staff, priests and cardinals, gathered in the ornate Clementine Hall. The pope praised those who have worked in the Vatican for “many years with immense dedication, hidden from the eyes of the world.” The church needs “people who work with competence, precision and self... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:21-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

From CNS:   Attention engaged couples: if you have already completed or are still attending marriage preparation courses, would you like to spend St. Valentine’s Day at an audience with Pope Francis? The Pontifical Council for the Family is sponsoring the event (“The Joy of a ‘Yes’ that’s Forever”) in the Vatican’s Paul VI audience hall Feb. 14. Couples need to apply by Jan. 30, 2014 by contacting their diocesan marriage and family office or by emailing the pontifical council directly at [email protected]... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:21-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

From the Catholic Register in Canada: The permanent diaconate is moving west. Two of the four dioceses in Saskatchewan will begin training men to become permanent deacons in 2014 and the other two are mulling it over. As metropolitan bishop of Saskatchewan, Regina Archbishop Daniel Bohan has asked all the Saskatchewan dioceses to consider launching programs that would lead to ordination of permanent deacons. Bohan has hired staff to train deacons and begun promoting the diaconate in parishes around his... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:21-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

Details from the Catholic Herald in the U.K.:  The first monastery of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham will be founded on New Year’s Day, it was announced today. On January 1 2014 the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary will formally become the first autonomous monastery within the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, under the jurisdiction of the Ordinary, Mgr Keith Newton. Ten Sisters, formerly members of the Anglican Community of St Mary the Virgin,... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:21-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

It happened in 2012, during a campaign stop that included an impromptu prayer service in Cleveland. From McKay Coppins of BuzzFeed:  By the time Ryan arrived backstage at the Waetjen Auditorium less than two weeks before the election, about a dozen advocates for the poor were waiting for him. They took turns telling stories from the front lines of the losing war on poverty. They spoke of their own experiences with addiction and homelessness. They testified of redemption. And then,... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:22-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

Details:  A South Side blues musician about to record on a major label and a 74-year-old church deacon known for his work with youth were shot to death blocks from each other within 30 minutes, authorities said. Police are looking into whether the deaths of Eric “Guitar” Davis, 41 and Willie Cooper could be connected, but had no details this morning. No one was reported in custody for either shooting. Cooper, a retired CTA driver, was shot to death around... Read more

2015-03-13T16:34:48-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:34 pm   By

From the blog PrayTell:  Austrian Religion.orf, citing the January edition of Cicero, quotes Archbishop Georg Gänswein, prefect of the papal household, as saying that Pope Francis will certainly not admit women to the diaconate. He considers this possibility “excluded.” The longtime secretary of Pope Benedict XVI sharply criticized “many powerful interests” that wish usurp the new pope for their own interests. “But I scarcely believe that the pope will let his hand be forced by certain German initiatives in his pontificate.” (Several German... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:22-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

Details:  When Eastside Catholic High School ended the employment of its vice principal for marrying his same-sex partner, it joined a growing list of Catholic institutions that have fired gay employees for marrying, announcing wedding plans or advocating too enthusiastically for gay marriage. The terminations — more than 15 across the country in the last two years or so — continue, despite what appears to be a softening by Pope Francis on a number of contentious church issues, including homosexuality... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:22-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

It happened on Long Island last week. Unreal:  A Kings Park parent is not keeping silent being offended by the school chorus’s rendition of holiday carol “Silent Night.” Kevin McDonald said Kings Park school teachers removed all religious references from the lyrics of “Silent Night” to avoid offending non-Christians at a fifth-grade concert held at Ralph J. Osgood Intermediate School on Dec. 12. “Silent Night at its core is a religious song. It’s a sacred, religious hymn that tells the story of Jesus’s birth,” McDonald said at the Dec.... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:22-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

Details:  As part of Pope Francis’ pastoral reforms, all 44 senior members of the Roman Curia, or governing body, must take turns hearing confession at a church near the Vatican. There is even speculation that Francis himself could hear confessions at the Church of the Santo Spirito in Sassia, just outside the Vatican walls, where his bishops and cardinals have been directed to perform the sacrament of penance and reconciliation. “I think it’s likely the pope will discreetly hear confessions... Read more

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