Within the first few weeks of his papacy, Pope Francis won widespread praise for his emphasis on “a poor church” that is “for the poor.” His warm and casual disposition, personal simplicity and tender outreach to “the poorest, the weakest, the least important,” as he expressed it in the homily at his inauguration Mass, may Read more
I soooooooo don’t get it. John Main says, “Language may not be able to lead us into the ultimate communion but it is the atmosphere in which we first draw breath of consciousness.” I have spent more than fifty years acquiring language – a spiritual language, that is, not my native tongue – and suddenly Read more
Most young American Catholics believe the Church’s teachings on sexuality and birth control are “out of date” and find Mass attendance an onerous obligation, according to a new survey. The online survey by the Barna Group covered 1296 Christians aged 18-29, including 536 “who had experience attending a Catholic church prior to age 18.” Among Read more
A parent with a child attending a Catholic school has complained to the Fiji Times that the school is forcing students who ar not catholics to attend Mass. In a letter, the school informed parents that if they did not want their children to Mass they should find another school. One parent said.”I had personally Read more
Catholic clergy and people in Nigeria are at a point of “near desperation” after the a suicide-bomb attack on a church during Mass, according to the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama wrote about “seeing children, women and men bombed out of existence”. The October 28 bomb, the latest in a series Read more
The Catholic Church of England and Wales is taking advantage of the Olympic Games to evangelise London locals, the thousands of tourists in the city for the events, and the athletes as well. Speaking to Vatican Radio, James Parker, Catholic executive co-ordinator for the Olympic Games, reported that not only is daily Mass celebrated within Read more
The suspension of an American priest because he improvised the prayers of the Mass has prompted protests from as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom. Father Bill Rowe, 73, has been removed from St Mary Catholic parish in Mount Carmel, Illinois, where he had been pastor for 18 years. Bishop Edward Braxton of Read more
Addressing the German bishops in his native tongue, Pope Benedict clarified recently that on consecrating the wine at liturgy priests are to use the phrase “for many”. Benedict’s message, in German, was delivered to once and for all end a reportedly underground dispute amongst Germany’s bishops. On the weekend, Vatican spokesman, Fr Federico Lombardi SJ, Read more
Pope Benedict XVI has personally written to the head of the German bishops’ conference to change the text of the Mass to say that Christ died “for many” rather than “for all”. The Pope said he was writing “to avoid a split” in the Church after Zollitsch told him during a March visit that “the Read more
The Archbishop of Westminister, Vincent Nichols, is standing by his support for special Masses provided for homosexuals in the archdiocese. Nichols has shrugged of recent criticism that Masses for homosexuals provide a platform for dissent from Church teaching, and he reaffirmed the Westminister diocese’s pastoral provision for gay Catholics. Rejecting complaints that the gatherings in Read more