Priest, 5 students arrested for chants against president after Pope Francis event in DRC...
A Catholic priest and five students were arrested after an event Thursday morning with Pope Francis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, allegedly for criticizing the country’s president. The students and Father Guy Julien Muluku, a Congolese member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, were detained nearly 34 hours before being released shortly before 10 p.m. on Feb. 3.
Last Sunday Jesus explained what makes you “Blessed” — this week he tells you what makes you a blessing...
People love pretty lies, so the world needs Christians who are willing to say hard things in a convicting way. Or, to put it another way, “You are the salt of the earth.” At the same time, people feel embattled and crushed by life, so the world needs Christians to say encouraging things about our ultimate purpose. In other words: “You are the light of the world.”
Even abortion has become a matter of contention between orthodox and heterodox bishops...
It could very well come as a stunner that a bishop would see the need to speak out in defense of a doctrine that at first glance is beyond dispute, within the Church: the inviolability of every new human life from its conception. The bishop is Domenico Sorrentino (in the photo), age 74, head of the dioceses of Assisi, Nocera Umbra, Gualdo Tadino, and Foligno, former secretary of the Vatican’s congregation for divine worship...
Woke “inclusion” is not authentic catholicity...
Back in the day, kiddie-Catholics learned that the Church had four “marks:” the Church is one, holy, catholic (as in “universal”), and apostolic. These marks derived from the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which we recite at Mass on Sundays and liturgical solemnities. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the Church “does not possess” these “inseparably linked” characteristics “of herself;” rather, “it is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, makes his Church one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and it is he who calls her to realize each of these qualities” (CCC 811).
What’s Happening at the Presentation of the Lord?
The first thing to note is that Luke is not talking about the time of Jesus' circumcision. That occurred on the eighth day after his birth. Luke has already talked about that and is now referring to a later time. Specifically, he's talking about the 40th day after Christ's birth. We know that because of he quotes from Leviticus 12:8...
Candlemas is upon us once again. It is one of my favorite feasts in the Church year...
Walking in the footsteps of St. Paul and the Church Fathers in Turkey...
The Cat’s Out of the Bag Now, With the Synod on Synodality...
Pope Francis ‘Left Without Words’ After Children’s Shocking Stories of Violence in Eastern Congo...
Here are the world’s 20 most beautiful places that you didn’t know existed...
“So put your mind to it. You have been appointed watchman...”...
I’d like to you consider a 16th century woman from the Low Countries. No, don’t run. Give me a minute. If you take a look at what I’ve got below, you might see a couple of things: First, to intelligently discuss “the role of women in the Church” is not as simple as some try to make it...
Architectural Digest ranks the 13 most beautiful McDonald’s in the world...
St. John Bosco reminds us that the soul must be both nurtured and nourished toward a relationship with Jesus Christ...
The evangelist St. John the Baptist introduces us to the drama that affects every human being when he reminds both Jews and Gentiles to repent and believe in the Gospel. The battle of good and evil we inherit at birth reveals the Baptist’s initial message to the entire world, focused on the need to renounce sin and make a profession of faith to God the Father. The message to repent reflects the need to nurture the soul, and the message to believe in the Word of God reflects the need to nourish the soul.
Bosco, a “polarization” warning, and running aground...
Father James Martin Receives a Papal Clarification — and in Record Time...
Cardinals, bishops and venerable prelates may be distressed by Pope Francis on occasion. They just have to accept their lot; Francis is pope, like it or not. When Jesuit Father James Martin is not happy, though, he does not have to take it. Word is sent to the Holy Father. The Holy Father gets the message and corrects course. Father Martin is thus, by the Holy Father’s own choice, the living emblem, the pastoral model...
Candlemas lights, showdown in Prague, and what evil is...
For those of you playing along at home, this really is the weekend where, if you haven’t taken down your Christmas lights by now, your neighbors now have license to judge you for it. Candlemas is, of course, not just some arbitrary day when your husband acquires the canonical right to forbid you playing Christmas music in the house and car (I’m kidding darling, this is just a joke), it is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple.
These beautiful monasteries are for sale across Italy...
What Pope Francis’ unfortunate “middle finger” tweet was really about...
On Thursday morning at 9 a.m. EST, a tweet from Pope Francis’ official English language Twitter account was posted. The tweet read: “The middle finger, which is higher than the others, reminds us of something essential: honesty. To be honest means not getting entangled in the snares of corruption.” Immediately, vulgar replies followed. The tweet was deleted within the hour.
Pope Francis to Congolese Youth: ‘Prayer Is Your Secret Weapon for Peace’...
Candlemas and Four English Martyrs...
Although our liturgical calendar doesn’t completely reflect it in the season of Ordinary Time, the Feast of the Presentation, also called the Feast of the Purification of Mary or Candlemas, is the last feast of the Christmas cycle. Forty Days after Our Lord’s Nativity, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, as St. Luke’s Gospel tells us, fulfill their obligations of purification and offering at the Temple. It’s finally time to put the Nativity crèches and festive greenery away; Christmas is officially over.
Pope Benedict XVI has found what he’s been looking for...
The approach of Jesus was not simply “inclusive” or “welcoming” — it was truly loving. He drew sinners to Himself on His terms, not theirs...
The other night, I had the privilege of participating in one of the listening sessions for the continental phase of the Synodal process. The basis for our discussion was a lengthy document produced by the Vatican after it had compiled data and testimony from all over the Catholic world. As I have been studying and speaking about synodality, I very much enjoyed the exchange of views. But I found myself increasingly uneasy with two words that feature prominently in the document and that dominated much of our discussion—namely, “inclusivity” and “welcoming.”
Father Ed Broom: How to seek holiness through humility...
This mess-free potato peeling hack is better (and much faster) than the way you’re doing it now...
“There is no greater blessing on earth,” said Aristotle, “than when husband and wife rule their home in harmony of mind and will”...
The notion of ‘ruling’ a home might seem outdated. We can wonder whether some other notion or term could better capture the blessing of what man and wife do together. In answer I suggest the notion of ruling highlights precisely what is sorely missing in our understanding and practice of household. Household is a central venue of human life. It’s not a side-stage...
The Catholic Church is a house with a hundred gates...
Any book of Catholic convert stories not only allows the solid rock of the Catholic faith to be expounded, but it also reveals the unique attraction of the Catholic faith. People give up everything to be received into the Catholic Church in a way that they do for no other denomination, and this is bewildering and worrying for family members and friends...
New podcast: Exploring the Catechism of the Council of Trent (in less than a year)...
How the CIA helped subsidize the work of the “Rosary Priest,” Venerable Patrick Peyton...
What happened when a Baptist preacher’s kid discovered the healing power of Confession...
Get this entire Catholic website as an instant digital download...
The full contents of the New Advent website are available as a digital download. It includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — and it's only $19.99...
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