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St. René Goupil — martyred for making the Sign of the Cross…
There is a letter, undated but composed around the year 1646, written under obedience to his superiors, by Father Isaac Jogues, Jesuit priest and martyr. It concerns a Jesuit Brother who would also become a martyr: René Goupil. René arrived in the New World from Europe in 1640. For the next two years, as a Jesuit lay missionary, he worked both in humble manual labor in the Jesuit house and as a surgeon in the hospitals of Quebec. Father Isaac notes that Rene “totally submitted himself to the guidance of the superior of the Mission, who employed him two whole years in the meanest offices about the house, in which he acquitted himself with great humility and charity. He was also given the care of nursing the sick and the wounded at the hospital, which he did with as much skill — for he und...
Synod Files: Pope Francis channels Paul VI by taking issues off the table…
ROME – Leaders probably ought to be judged not only by the problems they solve, but also the problems they avoid in the first place. The latter are sometimes harder to see, because by definition we’re talking about something that didn’t happen, but that doesn’t make the impact any less real. One participant in the ongoing Synod of Bishops on Synodality has suggested Pope Francis may be in line for just that second kind of credit right now, citing an interesting historical parallel from the Second Vatican Council. Famously, the current synod, in a sense, got underway 48 hours before its formal opening with a set of dubia, or doubts, submitted to the pontiff by five conservative cardinals. In responses to those dubia released by the Vatican, Francis, among other things, offered a cautious “y...
Is Rome slow-walking German bishop appointments?
Is Rome slow-walking German bishop appointments? Skip to content How long must Catholics wait for a new bishop when their old one steps down? Subscribe now There is no definitive answer to that question. In some cases, a new bishop is announced on the day that an outgoing bishop retires. In others, it takes a year or two. Sometimes, dioceses remain leaderless for decades, usually following a major political upheaval. Somalia’s Diocese of Mogadishu, for example, has lain vacant since the assassination of its last incumbent, Bishop Pietro Salvatore Colombo, in 1989, which sparked riots that led into the country’s ongoing civil war. Given that the duration of episcopal vacancies is unpredictable, it’s hard for Catholics to know when an appointment is taking longer than it should. This uncerta...
Cardinal Parolin made a ‘strong and clear’ defense of orthodoxy at the Synod, and he seems to be falling out of favor with Francis. Could he become the next pope?
Could Parolin be pope? Skip to content As the synod on synodality proceeds at the Vatican, bishops and lay participants have reportedly weighed in on a variety of ways by which the synod might propose changes to Catholic doctrine, or that elements of Catholic teaching be at least reexamined and deemphasized, in response to the pope’s call to see the Church become more “synodal” — and more welcoming to Catholics disaffected from the Church. But while reports pile up of participants with views at odds with Catholic teaching, sources have told The Pillar that one voice in the synod has been a loud advocate for a vision of synodality that places Catholic doctrine at its center: Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Given his ordinary reputation for diplomatic reserve, the n...
Synod on Synodality: Laywoman’s ‘Profound and Real’ Speech Opposing Women’s Ordination Draws Big Ovation…
VATICAN CITY — A laywoman received loud applause this week at the Synod on Synodality for a speech that characterized some members’ push for women’s ordination as an attempt to clericalize the laity, several sources have confirmed. Given in response to multiple small-group reports calling for women’s ordination not only to the diaconate, but in some cases also to the priesthood, the laywoman’s Oct. 16 morning address to the assembly also argued that a focus on women’s ordination is a distraction from what women in the Church want and need. The Register spoke with two synod members who were present in Paul VI Hall at the time of the speech, and a third source confirmed their account. The participants spoke on a condition of anonymity given the event’s restrictive confidentiality rules. In a...
The Popessa, Whoopi Goldberg, Meets the Pope…
Whoopi Goldberg is rich and famous. Her estimated worth is $90 million. Currently, she is making roughly $13 million per annum. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award. Her debut as moderator and co-host of the TV program The View drew an audience of 3.4 million. That she is rich and famous is beyond dispute. However, wealth and fame do not guarantee that third factor: moral wisdom; although it is often presumed that they do. In Ms. Goldberg’s case, that third factor may have eluded her. She was born in New York City in the year 1955 and named Caryn Elaine Johnson. The whoopee cushion, of all things, was the inspiration for changing her first name. Her surname was adopted from an alleged Jewish ancestor who did not exist. Or...
Video: Catholic nun looks like NFL linebacker as she tackles protester…
[embedded content] Environmentalists in the Ardèche département are trying to stop a religious community from building a new chapel and center for pilgrims. Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews Entertainment blogs & Forums
Latvian Bishop at Synod: If Someone Is Living in Sin, We Can’t Tell Them That’s All Right…
The archbishop also spoke about the complementarity of men and women and in favor of giving women “more room in the Church, but without changing what is in the Gospel and what is in tradition of the Church.” Stankevičs, who has served as the archbishop of Riga since 2010, underlined that in response to the issues of women’s participation in the Church and same-sex blessings, “we must be faithful to the holy Scriptures, and what the Church for 2,000 years has discovered by interpreting the Scriptures.” “But if we talk about blessing, I would say if a homosexual comes as an individual person and says, ‘I would like to live in God’s grace,’ I see no contraindication to pray for him and help him,” he said. “If two come and say ‘we want to live in chastity … and we are tempted,’ you can pray fo...
Inside Holy Family Church, Gaza’s Last Catholic Parish…
It’s just past 1 a.m. on October 12, the fourth day of Israel’s assault on Gaza, and my friend Rami is awake, texting me from a pew in the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, where he and his family are sheltering from air strikes. He tells me their apartment building was hit last night, their home completely demolished. Now he, his wife, and their two kids are sleeping on mattresses in the church hall, alongside almost 200 other Gazans evacuated or displaced from their homes. Because Rami fears for his safety, I’m using only his first name here. There are about 40 kids in the church, Rami says, and the adults are trying to keep them busy and distracted even as the sounds of rockets rattle the building. They’ve been playing soccer in the hall, because going outside is not an option. The adult...
Never Forget: God Is Your Loving Father, and He Thinks You’re Worth Dying For…
It’s rare to find new books written by female religious. It’s even more rare to find one written by an Eastern Catholic nun. That’s why I reached out to Mother Iliana, a nun at Christ the Bridegroom Monastery in Burton, Ohio, who has just written an excellent book on the interior life. Published by Sophia Institute Press, The Light of His Eyes: Journeying from Self-Contempt to the Father’s Delight, is Mother Iliana’s personal reflection on the journey of the soul to the realization of the Father’s tremendous love for each of us. Having read Mother’s book, I can attest that her accessible style delivers a timeless Gospel message that will resonate no matter the stage of your spiritual journey. I submitted a series of interview questions to Mother and her responses are presented below. Tell ...
Hamas Says Israel Behind Deadly Hospital Blast; Israel Blames Terrorist Group…
Now, when that need is greatest, the hospital itself has become a scene of tragedy and death. Bombing raises stakes for Biden visit The hospital bombing came on the eve of President Joe Biden’s high-stakes trip to Israel on Wednesday. As both Israel and Hamas contended that their adversary was to blame for the hospital bombing, Sean Callahan, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, expressed hope that President Biden’s visit would pave the way for his agency to transport emergency relief supplies to Gaza. The hope, said Callahan, is that the president can broker a deal to create a “humanitarian corridor” to bring vital emergency supplies — including “fuel for hospital generators, water, food and medicines” and “human assistance” — into Gaza. More in US “The s...
St. Ignatius of Antioch saw that the Eucharist transforms and unites us, so that we may truly be Christians…
Sometime early in the second century, St Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch in Syria, was arrested and marched to Rome. The Emperor at the time was Trajan (r. 98–117), whose correspondence with Pliny, a Roman governor in what is now northern Turkey, reveals his attitude toward Christians. Trajan did not take seriously the more unsavory rumors circulating about Christians, but he agreed with Pliny that, “whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy” in sticking to Christianity “surely deserve to be punished”—by death.[1] Several decades later, apologists like St Justin Martyr and Tertullian would note that Christians could be condemned merely for bearing that name, irrespective of actual or alleged crimes (Justin, First Apology 3–4; Second Apology 2; Tertullian, Ap...
