From NCR: A Nashville deacon who has raised questions about the completeness of the diocese’s recently published list of priests accused of sexual abuse has been removed from ministry for “carrying on a public disagreement with the Diocese,” according to a letter from his pastor. In the wake of the Pennsylvania grand jury report, more and more dioceses are moving to publish such lists, raising questions about who is — and is not — on them. Deacon Ron Deal first... Read more
Check out the video below from Detroit: Some thoughts: It’s highly unusual for a local media outlet to give this kind of attention to a family funeral. But it appears to have done some good. The archdiocesan response was compassionate and constructive. Pray for the healing of all concerned. It may be that there are other issues involved here that compel the priest to get the “assistance he needs.” Far too often, it is experiences like this that drive people... Read more
From Vatican Media: In the spirit of Christmas, Pope Francis is inviting a group of poor people to a lunch offered by the athletes of Italy’s military finance police, said the Office of Papal Charities. On behalf of Pope Francis, the Office headed by the Pope’s official Almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, has invited the poor people to the Christmas lunch on December 18 hosted by the Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Gialle (Yellow Flames Sporting Group) at the sports centre of the Guardia di Finanza (Finance Police), at Castelporziano, close to... Read more
Details: One of the Vatican’s top legal minds has opened the way for a revision of the Catholic position on Anglican orders by stressing they should not be written off as “invalid.” In a recently published book, Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, calls into question Pope Leo XIII’s 1896 papal bull that Anglican orders are “absolutely null and utterly void.” “When someone is ordained in the Anglican Church and becomes a parish priest... Read more
Amazing story: Nearly 20 years ago, former President George H.W. Bush wanted to sponsor a Filipino boy named Timothy through Colorado Springs-based nonprofit Compassion International — but first, he needed a pseudonym. “He’s passed away now, so it’s probably not a classified name anymore — it was George Walker,” said Wess Stafford, Compassion president emeritus. “That’s the same name that he used, apparently, whenever he checked into a hospital and they needed to have it unknown that he was in... Read more
The story out of Bridgeport a few days ago garnered a fair amount of attention, and now CNA has a helpful explainer: In fact, the possibility of lay “parish life coordinators” exists in the Code of Canon Law, and has been an option available to bishops since in 1983. Canon 517 of the Code of Canon Law gives the diocesan bishop options for dealing with circumstances in which it is not possible to assign to a parish a priest who... Read more
Some interesting insight and analysis from the folks at Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) shows what people are talking about — and not — from the pulpit: Most Americans who attend religious services regularly do not hear about certain current issues from the pulpit. Among those who attend religious services at least once or twice a month, only about four in ten say that their clergy speaks out about the issue of abortion (45%) or the issue of homosexuality (42%).... Read more
There’s a lot of common sense wisdom in this commentary by Jennifer Roback Morse on how the laity can do their part to address problems in the Church: We as laity don’t have the power to “make” the clergy, much less the pope, do what we want. We can complain all day long. But at the end of the day, where will we be? We’ll be another day older, angrier and more frustrated. Angry people don’t attract people to the... Read more
As Advent stories go, this is pretty great, via Currents at NET in Brooklyn: Hundreds of young Christians gathered at Immaculate Conception Church in the East Village, Manhattan to build the faith. “The atmosphere was amazing, joyful, and celebratory. It was just a great night to gather together in friendship, prayer, and faith,” said Megan Rodriguez, who attended the event. A new group called the John 17 Movement put the whole thing together. The name “John 17” refers to the... Read more
This news has been circulating since last night in a number of media outlets, but America has confirmed it: An Australian jury has found Cardinal George Pell, 77, guilty on five charges of “historical child sexual offenses” that go back decades, according to various media reports and confirmed by America. The 12-member jury gave their unanimous verdict in the County Court of the State of Victoria in Melbourne on Tuesday, Dec. 11. The judge decided that the sentencing will take place... Read more
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