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Cardinal Hollerich and synodal inevitability Skip to content The relator-general of the global synod on synodality, Cardinal Jean Claude Hollerich, backed this week the incremental and “tactful” progress towards the ordination of women to the priesthood. The cardinal, who is also Archbishop of Luxembourg, was appointed by Pope Francis to oversee the collection and synthesis of discussion and responses during the multi-year synodal process, due to reconvene in Rome in October. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, pictured in September 2018, before he received the red hat. © Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk Hollerich’s call for “patient” discussion towards women’s sacramental ordination runs contrary both to Francis’ affirmation that such ordinations are impossible and that the synod should not be treat...

On Friday, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) released a document titled Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena. Accompanying the document was a note by Cardinal Victor Fernández — the head of the DDF — introducing it and explaining the reasons why it was written. This document revised, replaced and expanded a previous document issued by the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in 1978. Apart from matters of detail, there are several notable shifts in the approach that the new document takes. These include (1) the scope of the document, (2) a procedure of greater transparency, and (3) a new classification system for apparitions and other supernatural phenomena. When it comes to scope, the 1978 document dealt only with “pres...

Signature appointments capture the essence of a pope.  As St. John Paul the Great had Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger for doctrine and Cardinal Francis George in Chicago, Pope Francis has Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez for doctrine and Cardinal Blase Cupich in Chicago. Such signatures, which are good subjects for handwriting analysis, reveal a great deal about the authors. Another of John Paul’s signature appointments is being recalled in these days. At the Canadian March for Life last week in Ottawa, Auxiliary Bishop Yvan Mathieu of Ottawa dedicated his vigil Mass homily to a panegyric for the Venerable Jérôme Lejeune, French pediatrician and geneticist, who died on Easter Sunday 1994. Dr. Lejeune, founding president of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV), was one of the key signature ...

Editor’s Note: Harrison Butker, 28, the placekicker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League, delivered the commencement address at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, on Saturday, May 11, 2024. A transcript of his remarks is below. Ladies and gentlemen of the Class of 2024:  I would like to start off by congratulating all of you for successfully making it to this achievement today. I’m sure your high school graduation was not what you had imagined, and most likely, neither was your first couple years of college. By making it to this moment through all the adversity thrown your way from COVID, I hope you learned the important lessons that suffering in this life is only temporary. As a group, you witnessed firsthand how bad leaders who don’t stay in t...

As he walked the earth after his resurrection for forty days, Jesus provided the gift of his presence to everyone who encountered him. This selfless Act of faith was part of Jesus’ post-resurrection mission to reassure His Apostles and disciples that they would not be alone after his ascension to heaven. He walked, spoke, ate, taught, reassured, and prepared his disciples for the journey ahead. His conversation with the disciples on the road to Emmaus and ultimately the celebration of the Eucharistic feast healed the spiritual blindness of the Apostles due to their lack of faith. This was all part of Jesus’s plan to prepare the Apostles for his final catechetical instruction to go forth and go into the world and preach the Gospel.[1] The time Jesus spent with his Apostles and disciples was...

The Carrington lights, the news, and Kendrick the intercessor? Skip to content Pillar subscribers can listen to this Pillar Post here: The Pillar TL;DR Hey everybody, I hope a lot of you enjoyed seeing the aurora borealis over the weekend, if the phenomenon could be seen where you live. Aurora borealis, May 10, 2024, Burrard Inlet, Vancouver, Canada. Credit: Brunoresende29/wikimedia CC BY SA 4.0 Here in Colorado, we’ve had a lot of cloud cover for the past few nights, and despite the solar storm that put them in reach for much of the country, the Northern Lights were never going to be especially visible from here anyhow.  But while much of the U.S. has enjoyed the experience of dazzling celestial displays, I did a little bit of reading about the Northern Lights.  When I went down...

By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio – articles – email ) | May 14, 2024 One of the confusing things about spiritual growth is how to figure out exactly what particular approaches or procedures we ought to follow to foster that growth. We may come across various particular devotions or spiritual exercises, some of which may (or may not) have a particular appeal. The Holy Spirit, and presumably our guardian angel, know how we can best focus our spiritual energies, so we should certainly ask our angels for help and spend some time in silent prayer and reflection to try to discern the promptings of the Spirit. But getting the balance right is typically an ongoing process, especially since our personal circumstances change based not only on the realities of age, family life, health, work and ot...

“We should get in touch with these people, talk to them without being intrusive. These times of a mission with a negative tone are over, but speaking and answering questions about the hope that fills us, as the letter to the Hebrews says, is part of Christianity.” Bätzing has led the Diocese of Limburg since 2016 and the German Bishops’ Conference since 2020. In 2016, more than 630,000 Catholics resided in Limburg. By 2022, this number had dropped to fewer than 540,000.  The Catholic population in Germany, a nation of about 83 million people, has significantly decreased. In 2020, there were approximately 22.19 million Catholics. However, by 2022, this number had dropped to about 20.94 million. Researchers paint a stark picture of the future: In 2019, a project of scientists at the Uni...

Think about surfing and you’ll likely come up with a mental image of tanned young men and women on California beaches, hair bleached by the sun and sporting ripped abs. But from a historical perspective, you might as well think of crime novelist Agatha Christie hanging 10 in a “skimpy” emerald-green wool bathing suit and leather booties. That’s because Christie was an early—if unlikely—English pioneer of the sport. In 1922, the 32-year-old author accompanied her husband, Archie, on a world tour to promote an upcoming exhibition intended to celebrate the achievements of the British Empire. (It featured such attractions as a butter sculpture of the Prince of Wales as well as elephants named Simla and Saucy.) The Christies deboarded in South Africa, where they were introduced to a local custo...

[embedded content] Do you know someone who is VERY strict with their spiritual and moral practices, to the point where you think it might be a problem? Or, do YOU sometimes struggle with feelings of unworthiness of our Heavenly Father’s love? If so, this episode is for you. Scrupulosity is a spiritual and psychological affliction that can sprout from a desire to be pious and virtuous, and can be associated with obsessive compulsive behaviors. Dr Malinoski and I discuss the roots of this affliction, how to combat it, and how to find a solid therapist who respects your Catholic faith to help you overcome it… Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews Entertainment blogs & Forums

Is the transitional diaconate still necessary? In other words, is it necessary for a priest to first be ordained a deacon before being ordained to the priesthood? In the recent essay “The Catholic Church doesn’t need transitional deacons.” for America Magazine, Deacon William T. Ditewig argues a resounding no. According to him, the diaconal step on the path to the priesthood is no longer necessary or beneficial. However, I disagree. Reimaging the diaconate should proceed with greater caution and theological care. Discontinuity or reform? In the conversations on the potential reform of the diaconate, as voiced by Cardinals McElroy and Cupich and detailed by Deacon Ditewig, we encounter a pivotal theological crossroad: Should the Church embrace a hermeneutic of discontinuity, severing the tr...

[embedded content] This video is presented by Dominican Father Conor McDonough and shot and edited by Patrick Grant. Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews Entertainment blogs & Forums