CATHOLIC NEWS: Vandals deface Pope's boyhood home... PLUS 27 MORE

CATHOLIC NEWS: Vandals deface Pope's boyhood home... PLUS 27 MORE

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Vandals deface Pope's boyhood home

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 12:47 PM PDT

Vandals had painted obscene slogans on the outer walls of the house where Pope Benedict XVI lived as a child. A police spokesman said that it was fair to assume that the damage to the home...

Next Archbishop Appointment: Miami?

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 08:15 AM PDT

The chatter is starting to heat up in South Florida that Archbishop John Favalora, due to retire this December, may have a coadjutor appointed to his Archdiocese of Miami before then. I am even hearing some sources (like our own Josh Mercer) speculate that Miami, as the unofficial "Capital of Latin America" and the seat of the Metropolitan of Florida...

Read the Bible for a Plenary Indulgence

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 09:41 AM PDT

Who said Catholics don't read the Bible? Did you know that the Church grants an indulgence to those devoutly read Sacred Scripture. (By the way, an indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment for a sin already forgiven by God.

Dershowitz: in defense of the Pope

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 02:28 PM PDT

Some praise for the pontiff, from a surprising source, famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz: Nor is the Catholic Church the only institution that has faced problems of sexual abuse. Every hierarchical body, especially but not exclusively religious ones, has faced similar problems, though perhaps on not so large a scale.

Guts and Principles

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 10:00 PM PDT

The Obama administration has targeted Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric, for assassination. Al-Awlaki has been linked to both the "underpants bomber" and the shootings at Fort Hood. There's no doubt that Americans would be safer in a world without al-Awlaki, but that's not the only question we should be asking ourselves.

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 10:00 PM PDT

The first beatitude teaches us, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). The Gospel calls us to a paradox in its teaching on poverty. First, it bids us recognize in the face of the poor the face of Christ.

Better than Bitter — Even in the Face of Scandal

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 10:01 PM PDT

Catholics are angry. The revelations of sexual abuse by Catholics priests and of subsequent cover-ups by bishops continue. So they're angry, primarily at negligent bishops (and of course the offending priests) but also at the media which exploits these sins to further their own anti-Catholic agenda. And this anger can be justifiable; after all...

How do you become a Saint?

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 06:43 AM PDT

Yesterday I wrote that the Catholic's proper response to the scandals is to become a saint. Someone then emailed me and reasonably asked, "How do you become a saint?" I have always taken a very practical view of this question. I don't see sainthood as something mysterious or ethereal.

AP guilty of bad journalism in Oakland abuse reporting, says Ignatius Press founder

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 05:28 PM PDT

Oakland, Calif., Apr 12, 2010 / 07:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Responding to a recent Associated Press article that claimed a 1985 letter showed then-Cardinal Ratzinger "stalled" the case of a pedophile priest in the Diocese of Oakland, Ignatius Press founder Fr.

Graceful Dying: The Gift of Allowing Others to Care for You

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 10:03 PM PDT

The phrase "selfless love" is often associated with the ways in which a person gives of him or herself in union with another. Most particularly selfless love is at the center of marriage but is also found in close friendships and certainly in parenthood. It is about the ways a person gives of "self" to another — without reservation, without regret...

Six Medjugorje seers, no religious vocations

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 01:39 AM PDT

Here is a new background article on the Medjugorje phenomenon, published in March of this year in the diocesan bulletin of Mostar. This piece discusses the history of the Medjugorje visionaries in regard to seeking vocations as friars or religious sisters. Over the 30-year course of the phenomenon four of the six expressed some interest in consecrated life...

Medjugorje Commission: Official List

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 03:10 AM PDT

The Press Office of the Holy See today published the following communique: "The International Investigative Commission on Medjugorje met for its first session on 26 March 2010." "The Commission, presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, His Holiness' vicar general emeritus for the diocese of Rome...

Thanks to Walt Whitman (A Few Words for Wednesday)

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 05:09 AM PDT

My sojourn in the wilderness lasted forty years, from 1967, when I left the Episcopal Church, until 2007, when I wandered into a Catholic one. Many things tried to pull me apart during those years, and many meanwhile sustained me. One of the latter was the poetry of Walt Whitman, which I used to memorize and recite while out walking...

Rome: A Life-Changing Pilgrimage

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 02:30 PM PDT

One year ago today was Easter Sunday and after celebrating the Anglican Eucharistic service at two parish churches, I boarded a plane to Rome for Easter Week. This pilgrimage came at a very important time for me. There were so many theological issues that were a part of my then current position that became the catalyst for my decision to pilgrimage at this time.

Pope dedicates general audience to priests

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 12:32 PM PDT

April 14, 2010. Pope dedicates general audience to priests.

Pius XII: Under the Roman Sky

Posted: 10 Apr 2010 07:57 AM PDT

Lux Vide has developed a powerful movie on the occupation of Rome by the Nazis during WWII. It dramatizes the key players in this story and showes the great lenghts that Pope Pius XII went to reach out to the Jewish community. Let's pray that many will be able to see this important film. Evidently the Holy Father has seen the film himself!

Weigel's piece in First Things… then Fr. Z rants

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 08:06 AM PDT

Preface: I urge priests and bishops reading this to at the very least skip to the last part if you think you don't have time to read the whole. _____ George Weigel has a piece in First Things which merits a reading. I teased out a few salient points for you atention. I will add something at the end. My emphases and comments. .

College Crunch: The 20 Most Brilliant Christian Professors

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 09:10 AM PDT

The professors listed here are all "brilliant" in the original sense of the word—they shine brightly among their peers as towering figures in the academic world. In addition, they are all Christians who do not hide their Christianity and see it as significantly impacting their intellectual work.

Yup, that's about right..

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 08:44 PM PDT

Michael Ramirez.

Catholic League's full page ad in the New York Times

Posted: 11 Apr 2010 09:59 PM PDT

The Catholic League has weighed in with a full page ad in the New York Times (aka Hell's Bible). The text: GOING FOR THE VATICAN JUGULAR Recent accusations against the Vatican deserve a response. • Fr. Lawrence Murphy apparently began his predatory behavior inWisconsin in the 1950s...

Christopher West Takes Sabbatical to Reflect on Approach

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 08:44 AM PDT

Renowned Catholic writer and speaker Christopher West has taken a six-month sabbatical to consider his approach in presenting the Church's teaching on sexuality.Seeking "personal and professional renewal," West will...

Caught On Video: Pfleger's Heresy

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 09:35 PM PDT

Just days after Cardinal George awarded him a lifetime achievement award, the Rev. Michael Pfleger has been caught on tape openly dissenting and teaching heresy from the pulpit during mass! In this stunning video from a Divine Mercy Sunday homily, Fr. Pfleger openly calls for female ordination and female bishops. Pfleger says...

Interesting fallout from the Legionaries scandal

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 04:08 PM PDT

My traditionalist priest friends are, thank God, not susceptible to the sin of Schadenfreude. But, if they were, they might note that several Vatican officials dragged into the financial side of the Legionaries of Christ scandal were stubbornly opposed to Pope Benedict XVI's attempts to improve the worship of the Catholic Church by liberating the [...

Arsonists target Mexican parish on Easter

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 08:02 PM PDT

The parish of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, located in El Porvenir, a town about 62 miles from the city of Juarez, Mexico, was attacked by unidentified arsonists in plain sight of parishioners whose faces displayed "helplessness" as they struggled to control the flames.

When Jesus Said, "No"

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 07:44 PM PDT

One of the struggles that many Christians experience is that the needs around us are so great and yet we are limited both in personal strength and in resources. And, lurking in the back of our mind, is a notion that what ever the problem, Jesus would help and so should we. It is a true...

A dark cloud with a silver lining

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 01:35 PM PDT

Last week on my "Open Line" radio show (Thursdays from 3-5 pm ET), I took a call from Mike, an Evangelical Protestant who wanted me to know that he had successfully convinced his Catholic wife to abandon her Faith and leave the Catholic Church to become Protestant. There's more to the story, and if you click here or on the image above...

Vatican spokesman says he doesn't feel under siege

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 10:47 AM PDT

Article Details <strong>Rome</strong> -- The Vatican spokesman said today that he doesn't feel "under siege" because of massive media attention to the pope and the sexual abuse crisis, but given recent events, one might legitimately wonder if he was just being polite.

After an Accusation, Hereìs What Happens at the Vatican

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 09:00 PM PDT

The guidelines of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith on the steps to be taken when sexual abuse against minors is alleged.