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Pope in Luxembourg: Service, Mission and Joy Are at the Heart of the Gospel…
Addressing the Catholic community of Luxembourg, Pope Francis emphasises the importance of service, mission, and joy, and calls on the Church to embrace hospitality, engage in missionary outreach, and live the Gospel with joyful hearts. By Francesca Merlo As the final event of the first leg of his 46th Apostolic Journey abroad, Pope Francis addressed a gathering of Luxembourg’s Catholic community. The event coincided with a Marian Jubilee, marking four centuries of devotion to Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted. Speaking to the faithful gathered in Luxembourg’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, Pope Francis focused on three key themes: service, mission, and joy. A Church called to serve Addressing the first word, “serve”, Pope Francis noted that serving is an action which “is at the very heart of t...
Pope Warns Faithful About Pornography and Satan: ‘Do Not Approach the Dog Tied With a Chain’…
During his weekly General Audience Wednesday morning, Pope Francis continues his catechesis series on the Holy Spirit and reminds that despite Satan’s attempts to distract and tempt us, the Lord enables us to free ourselves of his trickery and deception. By Deborah Castellano Lubov The Lord protects us from being deceived by the devil…. Pope Francis gave this comforting observation during his Wednesday morning General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, while, at the same time, urging the faithful to “never dialogue with the devil.” As he continued his catechesis series on the Holy Spirit, he turned this week to the Gospel account of Jesus’ temptations in the desert. Never converse with the devil The Pope recalled a Church Father’s observation that once...
Diocese of San Diego Bans Catholic Homeschool Groups on Parish Properties; Non-Catholic Schools Allowed to Remain…
San Diego diocese bans homeschool groups on parish properties Skip to content A newly issued policy in the Diocese of San Diego forbids homeschool groups from using space at area parishes, while allowing parishes to rent space to non-Catholic schools on a case-by-case basis. St. Joseph’s Cathedral in San Diego, California. Credit: Nehrams2020/wikimedia. CC BY SA 3.0 Some homeschooling co-op groups in the diocese were reportedly notified of the policy only days before beginning weekly classes, with one group forced to find an immediate alternative location to accommodate weekly classes offered for at least 40 children. While the Diocese of San Diego has not responded to The Pillar’s questions on the policy, sources in the diocese say it comes amid growth in homeschooling in the ...
Pope Francis Names New Consultors to Vatican’s DDF, Including Controversial Theologian Father Maurizio Chiodi…
By Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Sep 23, 2024 / 11:45 am Pope Francis has named 28 new consultors to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, including moral theologian Father Maurizio Chiodi, who has expressed opinions contrary to Church teaching. Chiodi, a moral theologian, has come under media scrutiny in recent years for suggesting contraception use in marriage could be morally permissible in some circumstances. In a 2017 lecture in Rome, the priest also said that homosexual relationships “under certain conditions” could be “the most fruitful way” for those with same-sex attraction “to enjoy good relations.” Chiodi was made a theology professor at the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and the Family Sciences in 2019 following its refounding by Po...
Kamala Harris to Skip Al Smith Dinner, Traditional New York Catholic Charities Event for Major Presidential Candidates…
PHOENIX (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will skip this year’s Al Smith charity dinner in New York, breaking with presidential tradition so she can campaign instead in a battleground state less than three weeks before Election Day. The dinner benefitting Catholic Charities traditionally has been used to promote collegiality and good humor, with presidential candidates from both parties appearing on the same night and trading barbs. Harris’ team wants her to spend as much time as possible in the battleground states that will decide the election rather than heavily Democratic New York, a campaign official said Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss campaign plans and confirming a decision first reported by CNN. Her team told organizers that she would be willing to attend ...
Blood of St. Januarius Liquefies in Naples Cathedral on His Feast Day…
By Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Sep 19, 2024 / 10:40 am The blood of St. Januarius liquefied on Thursday before a Mass in Naples, Italy, where the archbishop said that the blood of the fourth-century martyr is a powerful reminder that “love is stronger than death.” Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples held up an ampoule containing the relic of the saint’s blood in the Naples cathedral on his feast day, revealing the liquefaction to shouts and cheers from the people who had waited in the cathedral since early in the morning. “Every drop of this blood speaks to us of the love of God,” Battaglia said in his homily. “This blood is a sign of the blood of Christ, of his passion.” The archbishop recalled that Sept. 19 marks the anniversary of St. Januarius’ martyrdom more than 1,700 yea...
Vatican Rules on Medjugorje — Praises ‘Verified Fruits,’ Cautions About ‘Alleged’ Messages and Visionaries, Approves ‘Public Acts of Devotion’…
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the assent of Pope Francis, grants approval for devotion linked to Medjugorje, recognizing the abundant spiritual fruits received at the Sanctuary of the Queen of Peace without making a declaration on the supernatural character of the Marian apparitions. By Vatican News “The time has come to conclude a long and complex history that has surrounded the spiritual phenomena of Medjugorje. It is a history in which bishops, theologians, commissions, and analysts have expressed a series of divergent opinions.” Beginning with the words “The Queen of Peace,” the Note about the Spiritual Experience connected with Medjugorje was signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández and Monsignor Armando Matteo, respectively Prefect and Secretary for ...
Texas Carmelite Nuns Affiliate With SSPX After Yearlong Feud With Fort Worth Bishop…
By Kate Quiñones CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2024 / 18:45 pm After a string of controversies and disagreements with their local Fort Worth bishop, a group of Carmelite nuns in Arlington, Texas, announced on Saturday that they are associating with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist group that is not in full communion with the Catholic Church and has a canonically irregular status. After making a “unanimous decision,” the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas, said they have “completed the final steps necessary for our monastery to be associated with the Society of St. Pius X, who will henceforth assure our ongoing sacramental life and governance,” according to a Sept. 14 announcement on their website. Bishop Michael Olson of the ...
Vatican to Hold Press Conference About Medjugorje on Thursday; Announcement Will Be Livestreamed at 5:30am ET…
ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 16, 2024 / 13:15 pm Cardinal Víctor Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, will lead a press conference on the “spiritual experience” of Medjugorje this Thursday, Sept. 19, at the Vatican. The Vatican Press Office informed that at Thursday’s press conference on Medjugorje, which will take place at 11:30 a.m. local time, Fernández will be joined by Monsignor Armando Matteo, who serves as secretary to the dicastery’s Doctrinal Section, along with Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication. The press conference is scheduled to be broadcast live on Vatican News’ YouTube page. Although no additional details about the event have been released, the press conference is being held within the framework of the new “Norms f...
‘If One Person Returns’ — Sydney, Australia, Looks Ahead to 2028 Eucharistic Congress…
‘If one person returns’ — Sydney archbishop plans for 2028 Eucharistic congress Skip to content As the International Eucharistic Congress drew to a conclusion on Sunday, Vatican officials announced that the next International Congress will be held in Sydney, Australia, in just four years — 2028. Ahead of that announcement, The Pillar sat down with Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher to talk about what he hopes the 2028 event will be, how it can evangelize, and why Americans should start planning to coming to Australia. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Archbishop Anthony Fisher. Credit: Archdiocese of Syndey. Archbishop, it has now been announced that you will be the host for the next International Eucharistic Congress. Having experienced the beginning of this yea...
Body of Gregory Peter XV Agagianian, Armenian Patriarch on Path to Possible Sainthood, Returns to Lebanon…
ACI MENA, Sep 15, 2024 / 07:00 am On Thursday, Sept. 12, the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate held a grand ceremony in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square to welcome the remains of cardinal and patriarch Gregory Peter XV Agagianian from Rome. His body will be laid to rest in the Armenian Catholic Cathedral of St. Elias and St. Gregory the Illuminator in downtown Beirut. Agagianian, known for his strong opposition to communist rule during the Cold War era, became a prominent figure in Catholic Church history. He was a leading candidate for the papacy on two occasions. The process of his beatification, a step toward sainthood in the Catholic Church, began in Rome on Oct. 28, 2022. The late Armenian Catholic patriarch’s remains arrived in Lebanon in a glass casket carried by 12 young Lebanese men from var...
Pope Francis Says Trump and Harris Are ‘Anti-Life’ and Voters May Choose ‘Lesser of Two Evils’…
By Courtney Mares Aboard the papal plane, Sep 13, 2024 / 13:50 pm Pope Francis said that American voters face the choice between “the lesser evil” in the U.S. presidential election during an in-flight press conference Friday on his return from his nearly two-week tour of Southeast Asia. Speaking aboard the papal plane, a chartered Singapore Airlines flight, on Sept. 13, the pope encouraged Catholics to vote with their conscience. “In political morality, in general they say that if you don’t vote, it’s not good, it’s bad. You have to vote, and you have to choose the lesser evil,” he said. “What is the lesser evil? That woman, or that man?” he continued, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican opponent, former president Donald Trump. “I don’t know. Each one, in his or he...
