Author: S&P
Theologians say there is ‘doubt’ of sacramentality in marriages between ‘baptized non-believers’…
Vatican City, Mar 5, 2020 / 01:58 pm (CNA).- The International Theological Commission this week published a study into the question of whether two “baptized non-believers” can contract sacramental marriage or whether the absence of faith impedes the intent of the spouses. The commission concluded that an absence of faith can “compromise the intention to celebrate a marriage that includes some of t...
Preventing pandemic: Vatican takes steps to stop spread of coronavirus…
ROME — The month of March is usually when tourists flock to the Eternal City after the cold winter months and pilgrims come to pray at many holy sites during the Lenten season. With news of the growing number of people infected with the novel coronavirus, increasing travel restrictions and the Italian government’s order to close all schools, universities and institutes until March 15, places like ...
What would a truly Catholic politician look like?
With the rise of Uncle Joe Biden the American public is being presented yet again with a Catholic politician who professes to keep his faith private, while exploiting his Catholic faith whenever he and his PR professionals think it expedient. Joe Biden seems like one of the old school “Kennedy Catholics” who go to church on Sunday and cut deals with the mafia on Monday, hobnob with the Bishops in ...
Autism and Communion: Textbook social-media clash between parents, press and church…
<div class="sqs-block video-block sqs-block-video" data-block-json="{"blockAnimation":"none","layout":"caption-hidden","overlay":true,"description":{"html":"www.facebook.com/TwoCatsVideoProduction A New Jersey family is fighting for their church to see the light after they were told that their son with aut...
Pope names Savannah’s Bishop Gregory Hartmayer as Archbishop of Atlanta…
Vatican City, Mar 5, 2020 / 04:09 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Thursday appointed Bishop Gregory Hartmayer of Savannah to be the next archbishop of Atlanta, Georgia. Hartmayer is a member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual and has been bishop of Savannah since 2011. In Atlanta, Hartmayer follows Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who was appointed to head the Archdiocese of Washington in early 2019, after...
When a Single Mom’s Life Changes
I am often asked why it is even important to have a single mom’s outreach and ministry program in the church. Many wonder if the ministry is necessary or if it somehow segregates single mothers. There are other questions that arise about if ministering to single moms somehow condones divorce or unwed pregnancy? (Yes, these are all questions our ministry receives on a daily basis!) Do you wan...
Explaining the Pope’s soft touch on the survival of Middle Eastern Christianity…
ROME – Say “Christianity” and “Middle East” to people who’ve been paying attention to events in the region, the and next word that would automatically come to mind for most probably would be “extinction.” By now, the statistics on the collapse of the Christian population in the Middle East are wearily familiar. The situation is worse in the war-torn nations of Iraq and Syria, for obvious reasons, ...
Despite staying home, Pope’s vibe still will be felt during Lenten retreat…
ROME – Pope Francis was supposed to depart Sunday for his annual weeklong Lenten retreat with senior members of the Roman Curia. As has been custom since 2015, the get-away is being staged at a retreat center in the nearby hill town of Ariccia, about 45 minutes by car outside Rome. As it turns out, however, the pope announced during his Sunday Angelus address that he wouldn’t make the trip this ye...
The unreal dream of a “Church of the Ruthenians” — a clarifying letter…..
> Italiano> English> Español> Français> All the articles of Settimo Cielo in English * (s.m.) The previous post on the “strange shufflings” at the top of the Vatican congregation for the Oriental Churches has aroused considerable interest, in particular regarding the hypothetical creation of a “Church of the Ruthenians” in the sub-Carpathian region at the junction of Slovakia, Hunga...
God’s law is personal and loving…
In Monday’s first reading (Monday of the First Week of Lent) there is a recitation of the law that features the refrain “I am the Lord.” What does this expression mean and why is it appended to each command? When we think of God’s law, there is a danger that we might think of it as we do of any secular law: as a sort of impersonal code written by nameless legislators or bureaucrats. We have not me...
Vatican opens archives of 2 million documents from Pius XII era…
Documents on the pontificate of Pope Pius XII are seen at the Vatican Secret Archives on Feb. 27 in Vatican City. On March 2, the Vatican Apostolic Library opened the Holy See’s wartime archives on the pontificate of Pope Pius XII between the years 1939 to 1958. (Franco Origlia/Getty Images) Most attention has focused on what they might reveal about the Pope’s actions and attitudes toward the Jews...
the battle to walk gently and how poetry might help
On a Thursday morning, a few hours before friends come to our home to stay overnight with us for a few days, I asked my girlfriends to pray. The whole week I had been anticipating feeling depleted by the time it was Sunday and our guests had to go home. I had spent days thinking about what they might need, how I could create a cozy place for them in our studio (aka converted garage/office ). I put...
