Tuesday 19th March 2024

Home » breaking » Recent Articles:

Pope Francis: the good always wins

December 31, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: the good always wins

(Vatican Radio) “How meaningful it is to be gathered together to give praise to the Lord at the end of the year!” Those were the words of Pope Francis as he celebrated First Vespers for the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God in St Peter’s Basilica on Thursday evening. The liturgy at the conclusion of the civil year included the singing of the Te Deum, the Church’s solemn hymn of praise and thanksgiving. “The Church on so many occasions feels the joy and the duty of lifting up her song to God with these words of praise,” the Pope said in his homily. In particular, the final words of the hymn – “Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon…Continue Reading

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki: ‘Conscience’ a complicated matter at Communion

December 29, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Bishop Thomas John Paprocki: ‘Conscience’ a complicated matter at Communion

It is important to set the record straight about some incorrect statements made by John Freml in his letter to the editor (December 21, 2015). He notes that Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago has said that people in “irregular” situations, such as those who are divorced and civilly remarried and those who are in same-sex government marriages, should work with a spiritual director to come to a decision “in good conscience” about receiving Holy Communion. Of course, those who are in “irregular situations” should talk to a qualified spiritual director or a priest in the context of sacramental confession, but forming a “g

Pope tells Roman Curia to “return to the essentials

December 22, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope tells Roman Curia to “return to the essentials

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged the Roman Curia to “return to the essentials” and follow a path of gratitude, conversion, renewal, penance and reconciliation as indicated by the Year of Mercy. The Pope was addressing members of the Curia gathered in the Vatican Clementine Hall for the annual Christmas Greetings. Recalling briefly this same occasion last year during which he made a long list of curial diseases that adversely affect and infect the Church, Pope Francis said that some of those “diseases became evident in the course of the past year, causing no small pain to the entire body and harming many souls”. Reiterating his determination to move forward with ecclesial reform – which is necessary, he said, to…Continue Reading

ANALYSIS: Marriage and Religious Freedom: Consequences of Recognizing Same-Sex Couples

December 20, 2015 breaking Comments Off on ANALYSIS: Marriage and Religious Freedom: Consequences of Recognizing Same-Sex Couples

“The consent-based view of marriage now enshrined in law teaches that marriage is more about the desires of adults than about the needs – or rights – of children”  Father John Flynn  Dec 20  ZENIT.org   Rome |  One of the big events of 2015 was the decision by the United States Supreme Court in the Obergefell v. Hodges case that upheld the decision to allow same-sex marriage. The decision’s consequences were examined in the recent book “Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom,” by Ryan T. Anderson. The Supreme Court’s decision has brought the sexual revolution to its apex, Anderson commented in his introduction. Anderson, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, also accused the…Continue Reading

“To equate a papal position on abortion with a position on global warming is worse than wrong; it is an embarrassment for the Church.”

December 19, 2015 breaking Comments Off on “To equate a papal position on abortion with a position on global warming is worse than wrong; it is an embarrassment for the Church.”

ROME, December 18, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – A heated exchange regarding global warming and magisterial teaching between a top Vatican official and various other presenters ended a December 3 Acton Institute conference in Rome.  Argentinean Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, a close advisor to Pope Francis and the Chancellor of both the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences stressed that the pope’s declarations on the gravity of global warming as expressed in the encyclical Laudato Si’ are magisterial teaching equivalent to the teaching that abortion is sinful. Father Joseph Fessio, SJ, the founder of Ignatius Press who obtained his doctorate in theology under Joseph Ratzinger prior to his elevation to the pontificate, told LifeSiteNews, “Neither the pope…Continue Reading

Pope celebrates his birthday with young Catholics involved in project to welcome migrants

December 18, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope celebrates his birthday with young Catholics involved in project to welcome migrants

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received Birthday Wishes and a celebratory cake on Thursday as he greeted members of the Italian “Azione Cattolica” movement thanking them for their commitment to welcome migrants. It was a special morning in the Vatican as a large group of children and young people who belong to the non-political lay organization sang “Happy Birthday” to the Pope as he received them for the annual Christmas audience on the day that marks his 79th birthday. In a festive atmosphere, the Pope commended them for their desire to live the Gospel to the full, and for their mission to involve family members, parishes and communities in an actively Christian life. He said that by participating actively in the…Continue Reading

UN “Experts” Complain U.S. Has Too Many Pro-Life Laws Protecting Babies From Abortion

December 17, 2015 breaking Comments Off on UN “Experts” Complain U.S. Has Too Many Pro-Life Laws Protecting Babies From Abortion

The UN Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice conducted a visit to the United States last week and denounced laws restricting and regulating abortion as discriminatory and interfering with “women’s reproductive rights”. The Group railed against state laws on abortion, designed to protect women’s safety and provide for an informed and non-coerced decision, calling the laws “severe barriers” to women’s rights asserting: “These take the form of unjustified medical procedures, such as compelling women to undergo ultrasounds or to endure groundless waiting periods, withholding of early pregnancy abortion medications, imposing burdensome conditions for the licensing of clinics, which have resulted in the closing of clinics across the country leaving women without geographical…Continue Reading

GENERAL AUDIENCE: On Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy

December 16, 2015 breaking Comments Off on GENERAL AUDIENCE: On Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy

Below is a ZENIT translation of Pope Francis’ address during this morning’s weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square: * * * THE HOLY FATHER’S CATECHESIS Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! Last Sunday, the Holy Door was opened in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Cathedral of Rome, and a Door of Mercy was opened in the Cathedral of every diocese of the world, as well as in shrines and churches indicated by bishops. The Jubilee is in the whole world, not only in Rome. I wanted this sign of the Holy Door to be present in every particular Church, so that the Jubilee of Mercy could become a shared experience by every person. Thus the Holy Year got…Continue Reading

Pope approves decrees for 17 on path to sainthood

December 15, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope approves decrees for 17 on path to sainthood

(Vatican Radio) On Monday, 14 December 2015, Pope Francis received Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in a private audience. In the course of the audience, the Holy Father authorized the Congregation to promulgate decrees regarding: The miracle attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Maria Elisabetta Hesselblad, Founder of the Order of the Most Holy Saviour of Saint Bridget; born a Flågavik, Sweden on 4 June 1870, died at Rome 24 April 1957. The miracle attributed to the intercession of the Servant of God Ladislao Bukowiński, diocesan Priest; nato a Berdyczów, Ukraine, on 22 December 1904, died in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, 3 December 1974. The miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: “hope in God’s mercy gives us freedom”

December 15, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: “hope in God’s mercy gives us freedom”

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says that it is hope in God’s mercy that opens up horizons and gives us freedom. The Pope was speaking on Monday during the homily at morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta. Reflecting on the first reading of the day from the Book of Numbers which tells of Balaam, a prophet hired by a king to curse Israel, Pope Francis said “Balaam had his faults, and he had sins as well, because we all have sins. We are all sinners”. But reassuring the faithful and telling them not to panic, the Pope said: “God is greater than our sins”. At a certain point – he continued – Balaam meets the angel of the Lord and has…Continue Reading