State of Alabama joins EWTN in new suit against HHS mandate

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Catholic News Agency: EWTN Global Catholic Network has been joined by the state of Alabama in a new lawsuit against the Obama administration’s contraception and sterilization mandate. “EWTN has no other option but to continue our legal challenge to the mandate,” said chairman Michael P. Warsaw in an Oct. 28 statement announcing the suit. The network had originally filed a suit against the federal government Feb. 9, 2012 and was later joined by Alabama through the state’s attorney general,... Read more

The son of a deacon, on preaching

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

And he happens to be a priest, Fr. Mark Knestout, of the Archdiocese of Washington. Actually, he’s part of a family that holds a unique place in American church history: the only family (so far as anyone knows) that has produced men in all three levels of Holy Orders. His father, Thomas Knestout, was a deacon and former head of the diaconate office in Washington; his brother Barry is an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington. (You can... Read more

Boom: Florida seminary plans major expansion

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the Sun Sentinel: A surge of men choosing the Catholic priesthood has prompted a Boynton Beach seminary to begin a $7 million expansion project, including two new dormitories for 106 future priests. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary’s student body has grown from 55 five years ago to 85 this year, said the Rev. David Toups, the seminary’s rector and president. In three years, Toups expects 110 students, the largest group in the seminary’s 50-year history. “Within an eight-year span, we... Read more

Benedictus

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

How about a little grace for a Sunday evening? This was “choir Sunday” at my parish, an annual event where the choir sings at all five Masses to raise awareness of their ministry, invite new members to join and, not insignificantly, plug the upcoming Christmas concert in mid-December. This piece was sung at communion: “Benedictus in C” by Charles Villiers Stanford. It’s performed here by the Kampen Boys Choir. Read more

Cardinal: “The ‘Italianation’ of the church has always been tied to power”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Photo: Kye R. Lee/Dallas Morning News A member of the “Super 8” cardinals takes off his gloves. From the Dallas Morning News: In the powerful words of Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, a member of Pope Francis’ circle of advisers, the work started in Vatican II 50 years ago will reach fruition in the Catholic Church’s push toward “New Evangelization.” Delivering the keynote address at Friday’s opening of the University of Dallas Ministry Conference in Las Colinas, Maradiaga described... Read more

Ordination update: 15 new deacons for Orange

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Photo: Ken Steinhardt/Orange County Register From the Orange County Catholic: With the hymn “One in Christ” as a musical backdrop, Bishop Kevin W. Vann entered St. Columban Church in Garden Grove earlier this morning to ordain 15 new permanent deacons to serve in the Diocese of Orange. (Click here for the complete list.) “We are blessed to welcome so many new deacons into the permanent diaconate within our diocese,” Bishop Vann said in a statement prior to the ordination. “These unique individuals... Read more

The Francis Effect in Nebraska

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the World-Herald in Omaha: At his sister’s wedding reception, Taylor Leffler sat down for a friendly chat with friends of hers who are gay. For Leffler, a 22-year-old Nebraska native studying for the priesthood, the conversation was spurred by a powerful reason: Pope Francis’ call for Catholics to reach out to others, rather than shun them or preach to them because you disagree with how they live their lives. In a now famous interview this fall with a Jesuit magazine,... Read more

Homily for October 27, 2013: World Priest Day

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:37 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the vault: this is my homily for World Priest Day from 2008. It happens more often than you may think. Someone will ask me after mass, “Deacon Greg, if priests could be married, wouldn’t you like to be a priest?” Well, the answer for me is no. I’m happy being a deacon. But this Sunday is a moment to consider those men who were called to that other vocation – and to thank them for answering the call. This... Read more

UPDATE: “So help me God” now optional in Air Force oath

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Following up on this news from earlier in the week, there’s this development: Air Force Academy cadets are no longer required to say “so help me God” at the end of the Honor Oath, school officials said Friday. The words were made optional after a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, that they violated the constitutional concept of religious freedom. Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson said the change was made to respect cadets’ freedom of... Read more

Second U.S. bishop has hepatitis; Rome “Bishop School” linked to outbreak

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Hours after news broke about Fargo’s bishop, Kathy Schiffer—the Lois Lane of Patheos—uncovered this scoop: Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, ordained bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, November 28, 2012, has been diagnosed as suffering from Hepatitis A. Bishop Strickland attended “Bishops’ School” for newly ordained bishops in Rome in September 2013, and contracted the disease at that time. At least one other bishop in attendance had also been diagnosed with Hepatitis A. On his return from Diocese of Tyler in... Read more