California bishop delays requiring teachers to sign “morals” agreement

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

You may remember this controversial decision from a few weeks back. Now, the bishop is changing course. Details: After meeting with local pastors and Catholic school administrators this week, Santa Rosa Diocese Bishop Robert Vasa reversed his prior edict that all teachers at schools under his jurisdiction sign a controversial morals addendum by March 15 in order to keep their job, delaying the requirement for at least two years. In a letter sent out to all faculty, staff and parents... Read more

Obama visits Bethlehem

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From CNS: U.S. President Barack Obama, visiting the West Bank city of Bethlehem, stopped twice to light candles for his family and himself: first at the Church of Nativity grotto, where Christian tradition holds that Jesus was born, then at the adjacent Catholic Church of St. Catherine. On the last leg of his four-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Obama also took time for a few moments of private prayer and contemplation, said Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III,... Read more

“Francis cannot be captured by political categories. He transcends them.”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Robert Moynihan has his take on Pope Francis’ important remarks to the diplomatic corps today: What Francis said today was critical, and should be read carefully by all who want to understand “where he is coming from.” So far, the “pundits” — and really, all of us — have been “circling” Pope Francis, like the group of blind men circling the elephant, one touching the rope-like tail, one the smooth, sheet-like ear, one the hard, ivory tusk, all “seeing” only... Read more

Pope Francis, typical Catholic

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

You know the type: always has to take his favorite seat, preferably near the back… Caption: -SS. Francesco-Santa Messa presso la Cappella della Domus Sanctae Marthae 22-03-2013 – (Copyright L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO – Servizio Fotografico – [email protected]) L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO. The story behind the picture is here. And you can see more pictures at Frank Weathers’ joint. Read more

Where will Pope Francis live? “Let’s wait and see”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

John Thavis has some possibilities: Rumors are swirling inside and outside the Vatican about where Pope Francis intends to take up residence. The initial expectation was that he would move into the formal papal apartment on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace, the building where popes have lived for centuries. But Pope Francis appears to be in no hurry. More than a week after his election, he’s still residing in the Vatican’s modern guest house, the Domus Sanctae Marthae,... Read more

Creepy: “Exceptional egg donor needed”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Melinda Henneberger in the Washington Post: “Exceptional egg donor needed,” said a recent ad in the Harvard Crimson. The couple looking for that donor, it said, is working with a “prestigious Los Angeles IVF clinic,” in search of a “100% Korean woman” with an excellent education, “outstanding” test scores, “extremely healthy family history,” plus an “altruistic nature,” and a “slim build.” The Nobel Prize in Physics is only optional, I guess, since the ideal candidate sought in such notices must also... Read more

“There is no peace without truth!”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Pope Francis this morning addressed diplomats from nearly 200 countries—and John Allen notes a theme that is strikingly similar to his predecessor’s: For those tempted to draw an overly sharp distinction between Pope Francis and his predecessor, the new pope offered a clear reminder today that he may have a different style than Benedict XVI, but on substance he’s cut from much the same cloth. In a speech to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See today, Francis lamented... Read more

Pope Francis accepts invitation to visit Iraq

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: As Saint Francis travelled to the East where he met Sultan Malik al-Kamil, so we hope Pope Francis “may come to Iraq to confirm us our faith and give our small community in the land of Abraham courage and hope,” said His Beatitude Mar Louis Raphael I Sako during an audience with the pontiff Thursday morning in the Vatican. “Yes,” answered the pope, “with joy.” The patriarch himself toldAsiaNews about his meeting with the Holy Father before leaving this afternoon... Read more

God’s army: overflow crowd attends discernment retreat for military chaplains

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Very impressive turnout: Twenty-six (26) men from every service branch of the U.S. armed forces and civilian life are gathered [in Menlo Park, California] today for a March 21-24 discernment retreat aimed at helping them determine if they are called by the Holy Spirit to be Catholic priests and military chaplains. The Vocations Office of the Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) is conducting the retreat at St. Patrick’s Seminary, but so many are taking part that nearby hotel rooms... Read more

Is the pope still a Jesuit?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A deacon reader wrote to ask me that question. He said: A priest I know said that once a priest becomes a bishop (let alone pope), he ceases being a member of his religious order (thus for example, O’Malley and Chaput are no longer Capuchin Franciscans), especially since he no longer has a vow of obedience to his superior because they are now “above” or “beyond” that “inferior” scope of obedience. So this priest says that Pope Francis WAS a... Read more

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