A Florida priest has gone viral for busting out his dance moves. The Cardinal Gibbons High School’s cheerleaders and dance team were practicing for their homecoming performance during an assembly when the Rev. Ricardo Rivera, who works at the Fort Lauderdale school, joined them on the basketball court. Rivera slowly walks toward the performers in Read more
World
Married priests, a female diaconite and a new rite
Thursday, October 31st, 2019
Three issues coming out of the Amazon synod’s final document include ordaining married men to the priesthood, the female diaconate and creating an Amazonian Rite. Two-thirds of the 180 bishops at the synod approved all the 140-paragraph document’s findings, which they voted on paragraph by paragraph. One of the document’s main focuses further including laity Read more
Jews, Muslims, Christians sign pact against physician-assisted suicide
Thursday, October 31st, 2019
Numerous representatives of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths met at the Vatican this week to signs a joint Declaration denouncing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. After signing the Declaration, they presented it to Pope Francis. All three Abrahamic monotheistic religions share common goals and are in complete agreement in their approach to end-of-life situations. The twelve-point Read more
Pope urges caution on Amazon synod report
Thursday, October 31st, 2019
Pope Francis is urging media to be cautious in their reports about the Amazon synod final report. They should not pay “undue attention to aspects of the assembly’s final report addressing Church discipline while ignoring the assembly’s “diagnoses” of four major aspects of life in the Pan-Amazonian region. These concern the region’s cultural, social, pastoral Read more
Pope says holiness requires minding your own business
Thursday, October 31st, 2019
If we want to grow in holiness we have to pay attention and work on ourselves, Pope Francis says. Catholics often know more about their neighbour’s business than they do about the normal spiritual struggles going on in their own hearts and souls, Francis said during his sermon at early morning Mass last Friday. He Read more
Priest denies communion to former US vice president Joe Biden
Thursday, October 31st, 2019
Former US vice president Joe Biden was refused holy communion at Mass last Sunday. Biden, who is a presidential candidate, is refusing to confirm the reports, saying the incident is part of his “personal life.” The priest who refused to give Biden the sacrament, says based his decision on Biden’s support for legal abortion. “Sadly, Read more
Vatican’s Secret Archives no longer officially secret
Thursday, October 31st, 2019The Vatican Secret Archives, containing millions of documents spanning 12 centuries, are no longer officially “secret”. Pope Francis has renamed the priceless archives, which include letters concerning King Henry VIII’s request to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, which led to the English church breaking away from Rome in 1534. They also hold Read more
Vatican eRosary app hacked multiple times just days after launch
Thursday, October 31st, 2019A new gadget aimed at getting more young people to pray has been hacked at least three times in the days since its launch. The Vatican unveiled its “smart” Rosary bracelet in mid-October. It is activated by making the sign of the cross and connects to the “Click to Pray” eRosary app, which is designed Read more
Pickpocketing on the rise in Lourdes, authorities caution pilgrims
Thursday, October 31st, 2019As reports of theft are on the rise at a famous Marian shrine in France, Lourdes authorities have increased security and encouraged pilgrims to be more aware of their belongings. Pierre Aurignac, a local prosecutor, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the town has had a “statistical explosion” of pickpocketing. So far this year, he said, Read more
Fiji archbishop calls for Oceania Synod
Thursday, October 24th, 2019
Fiji Archbishop, Peter Loy Chong is calling for an Oceania Synod, a “Synod on the ocean”. He made the call while in Rome for the Amazon synod. “The Amazon and its forests are important, but we must not forget how significant the ocean is in the web of life,” Chong told Caritas’ Harriet Paterson and Read more