Posts Tagged ‘Capuchins’

‘Bone church’ forces us to stare mortality in the face

Monday, November 11th, 2019

The crypt chapel in the Church of Holy Mary of the Conception in Rome is composed completely of human bones, hanging lanterns and all. While the chapel is some “weird Catholic stuff,” to say the least, it does present a pressing and unavoidable lesson: that our lives are short and that we are all going Read more

Monk wows Pope with card trick

Thursday, October 24th, 2019

A carefully planned card trick brought a roar of laughter to a recent meeting Pope Francis had with a group of Capuchin Franciscans from Le Marche Region in Italy. Read more

Media priest Fr Benedict Groeschel dies

Friday, October 10th, 2014

Franciscan Fr Benedict Groeshel, who was well known for his prolific writings and often controversial views, has died in the United States aged 81. A trained psychologist, he was a fixture on Mother Angelica’s Eternal Word Television Network, better known as EWTN. With other Capuchin priests, he formed the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, based Read more

Silenced priests: A question of conscience

Tuesday, March 25th, 2014

Let us talk about Catholic priests. Consider especially those who are now in their 60s, after a life of service to their church. They were seminarians in the heady days of Vatican II when everything seemed possible. They managed to survive the aftermath of was Humanae Vitae and continued to preach and counsel, to lead the sacred Read more

Has the ‘real Ratzinger’ come out to play?

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

ROME — When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected to the papacy in April 2005, the popular forecast called for stormy weather ahead. This was, after all, the Vatican enforcer who had been leading a “smack-down on heresy since 1981”, in the words of T-shirts and coffee mugs marketed by a Ratzinger fan club. His rise elicited Read more