Franciscan Brother Sergio Gorgen and five of his Brazilian compatriots, have been on a hunger strike since the end of July to highlight the deteriorating conditions many Brazilians have to live with. The hunger strikers are denouncing the social policies adopted by the current administration and the country’s court system. They say the system is Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Franciscan’
Auckland’s Franciscan Friary closed for renovation
Thursday, August 17th, 2017St Francis Retreat Centre on Hillsborough Rd in Auckland is closed for renovations until the end of August. This is the first time the friary has been closed for retreats since it was opened in 1940. The current work is the second stage of a project which grew from earthquake strengthening work to include renovation, Read more
Youth winning Jericho: walls tumbling, bridges being built
Monday, July 24th, 2017
A new youth centre in Jericho is uniting Christian and Muslim young people and has become “a school of peaceful co-existence”, as was intended when it opened earlier this year. The school is open to all people in Jericho who are aged 14-29. Most are Muslim. The Franciscan-owned and run centre offers free courses in Read more
Plans for Pontifical Franciscan University in Rome by 2018
Friday, December 4th, 2015The heads of four Franciscan communities have announced plans to establish a Pontifical Franciscan University in Rome by 2018. This was announced by the Ministers General of the First Order in a letter dated November 29. “As an expression of the academic unity of the Franciscan family, this project will be committed to an emphasis Read more
Media priest Fr Benedict Groeschel dies
Friday, October 10th, 2014Franciscan 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
A woman to head a Rome pontifical university for first time
Tuesday, July 8th, 2014
For the first time, a woman has been appointed to lead one of Rome’s seven pontifical universities, established directly under the Pope’s authority. The Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education announced that Franciscan Sr Mary Melone has been appointed rector of the Pontifical University Antonianum. The Antonianum is run by the Order of Friars Minor. Sr Read more
Franciscan punished for concelebrating Mass with woman priest
Tuesday, April 1st, 2014An American priest, Franciscan Fr Jerry Zawada, has been removed from public ministry for concelebrating Mass with a woman priest in 2011. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ordered Fr Zawada, 76, to live a life of prayer and penance at a Franciscan Friary in Wisconsin. Fr Zawada, a long time peace and Read more
Pope Francis alarms some traditionalists
Tuesday, December 17th, 2013
Pope Francis has recently come under criticism from a growing number of traditionalist Catholics for cracking down on a religious order that celebrates the old Latin Mass. The Associated Press reported that the case has become a flashpoint in the “ideological tug-of-war” in the Catholic Church over the pontiff’s agenda. The matter concerns the Franciscan Read more
Scaffolding for the spiritual journey
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
I often see scaffolding wrapped around buildings. Rigid metal poles bolted together. Planks and ladders providing safe passage from one place of work to another. Scaffolding is needed for major repairs and maintenance, such as replacing a roof, or painting a tall building. Sometimes, this scaffolding is then plastic-wrapped, to provide privacy, safety, and a Read more
Lazarus comes to town – Pope Francis: making faith concrete
Friday, April 19th, 2013
On Maundy Thursday I was struck by these words from a hymn (133, Common Praise). We strain to glimpse your mercy-seat, and find you kneeling at our feet. In the action of having our feet washed or in washing the feet of another, we acted out concretely the love and very presence of Christ. Christ, then, the Read more