BIG C CATHOLICS

The Crushed Bones has a thoughtful article "To Conscience First" , that is well worth your time. With all the concern over Pope Francis' propensity to "make a mess" (see here and here ), it should be remembered that no pontiff can unilaterally overturn Church doctrine. Some timely insights from the post: "It is frighteningly easy for priests, bishops, cardinals and Popes to misuse their authority in many and varied ways, but in particular regard to the Papacy, cause for anxiety is very well-founded because the Pope oversees not simply a parish or a Diocese, but is Supreme Pontiff for the whole Universal Church. If the Shepherd goes astray, the multitude of sheep who follow him will likely go astray too. ... 'Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam .' 'You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.' One cannot help but feel that the omission of the clause 'et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam

During an in-flight press conference aboard the papal plane, returning to the Vatican from his recent visit to Sweden, His Holiness Pope Francis, was asked a series of questions, among them whether women could ever be ordained to the Catholic priesthood. His answer states that women cannot be ordained; either to the priesthood or the diaconate. Below is said exchange translated by Catholic News Agency : Kristina Kappellin: "Good morning. The Sweden that hosted this important ecumenical encounter has a woman as head of it’s own Church. What do you think: is it realistic to think of women priests also in the Catholic Church in the coming decades? And if not, why are Catholic priests afraid of competition?" Pope Francis: "Reading the history a bit in the area where we were, I saw that there was a queen who was widowed three times. And I said: but, this woman is strong, and they told me: Swedish women are very strong, very good. And because of this some Swedish man looks

Pope Francis, in a shocking and unprecedented move, has replaced all 27 members of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship , the body that oversees liturgical matters. Typically, the pope appoints to the congregation a few new members to replace those who have served for several years. The overhaul stunned vatican-watchers. The appointments are a blow to Cardinal Robert Sarah's efforts to achieve a "reform of the reform" as a proponent of more reverent liturgy. The new members of the congregation include: Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, Cardinal Beniamino Stella, the prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture and Archbishop Piero Marini, who clashed with liturgical conservatives while serving as master of ceremonies for Saint John Paul II. The liberal bent of the congregation is marked. The conservative prelates who were removed include: Cardinals Raymond Burke, Angelo

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer through the month of November: Universal: Countries Receiving Refugees That the countries which take in a great number of displaced persons and refugees may find support for their efforts which show solidarity. Evangelization: Collaboration of Priests and Laity That within parishes, priests and lay people may collaborate in service to the community without giving in to the temptation of discouragement.

Pope Francis has authorized the Archdiocese of Rouen, Rev. Dominique Lebrun, to begin investigating a cause for the beatification of Father Jacques Hamel, the French priest killed while saying Mass by two ISIS terrorists. Archbishop Lebrun made the announcement while presiding at a service of reparation at the church of St. Etienne du Rouvray, which was reopened for the first time since the July 26 terrorist attack in which Fr. Hamel was martyred. Normally, the Church requires a 5-year waiting period after the person’s death before opening a cause for beatification. Pope Francis has waived that wait, responding to pleas from French Catholics. During his in-flight press conference, October 2 , returning from Azerbaijan, the Pontiff confirmed that he has asked the Congregation for the Doctrine of Saints to begin Fr. Hamel's beatification process. Fr. Jacques Hamel, a revered and devoted priest, is a martyr for the faith. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual l

Each year, October is designated as Respect Life Month by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This year’s theme, "Moved by Mercy", draws on a quote from Pope Francis when he called for the Jubilee Year of Mercy: "We are called to show mercy because mercy has been shown to us." The first Sunday of October is Respect Life Sunday. It kicks off a yearlong pro-life program for the U.S. Catholic Church highlighting human dignity and the need to protect, defend and cherish all persons. The USCCB’s Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities has prepared a packet for the 2016-2017 program containing materials and resources that can be downloaded in English and Spanish. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities stated : "Every person is sacred and must be treated with the dignity they deserve. No one should ever be treated callously or carelessly — everyone should be cherished and protected!" He added: From eac

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer through the month of October: Universal: Journalists That journalists, in carrying out their work, may always be motivated by respect for truth and a strong sense of ethics. Evangelization: World Mission Day That World Mission Day may renew within all Christian communities the joy of the Gospel and the responsibility to announce it.

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer through the month of September: Universal: Centrality of the Human Person That each may contribute to the common good and to the building of a society that places the human person at the center. Evangelization: Mission to Evangelize That by participating in the Sacraments and meditating on Scripture, Christians may become more aware of their mission to evangelize.

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter , Caravaggio, 1600-01.  [Christ said unto them] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you . — John 15:20 The word martyr derives from the Greek word meaning "witness." A martyr is one who willingly suffers death rather than renounce his Faith. The one thing all martyrs for Christ share is that they would rather die than lie. Despite being crucified, stabbed, stoned, dragged, skinned and burned, every Apostle of Jesus (save Judas) proclaimed the truth of Christ’s Resurrection until their last breath. In refusing to abandon their beliefs in the face of vicious persecution, today’s Christian martyrs give their lives to grow the Church. The Holy Father has said , "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church… It is true that during the times of Nero many Christians were persecuted, and today there are just as many." Francis explained the role martyrs play as witnesses: "We know that there is no growth without the

The Vatican Press Office released the transcript of the meeting between Pope Francis and the prelates of Poland  (As of this writing it has not been translated into English) that occurred during the pontiff’s recent apostolic journey there for World Youth Day. We have written about how our culture far too often reduces human sexuality to a recreational activity with little regard for its significance or sacredness. Such an attitude fails to see the person as a unique creation made in the image of God or our gender as a gift, not to be manipulated. Francis' remarks the strongest yet on this topic , are an affirmation of the Church's long held teaching. (From the Holy See's transcript.): "In Europe, America, Latin America, Africa and some Asian countries we are seeing some real ideological colonizations. And one of these, I’m going to say it outright, is gender. Today, children — children! — are told at school that they can choose their sex. Why are they taught thi

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer through the month of August: General Intention :  Sports That sports may be an opportunity for friendly encounters between peoples and may contribute to peace in the world. Evangelization: Living the Gospel That Christians may live the Gospel, giving witness to faith, honesty, and love of neighbor.

Speaking to reporters aboard a plane in route to Krakow, Poland for World Youth Day , Pope Francis said, "The word that is being repeated often is insecurity, but the real word is war," the Holy Father continued, "Let's recognize it. The world is in a state of war in bits and pieces," explaining that the attacks could be seen as another world war. In his remarks, Francis clarified that he was not referring to a war of religion, "Now there is this one war. It is perhaps not organic but it is organized and it is war," he said. "We should not be afraid to speak this truth. The world is at war because it has lost peace." Pope Francis decried the martyrdom of Fr. Jacques Hamel, the French priest murdered by Islamist militants on Tuesday, calling him, "a saintly priest". He added that Fr. Hamel was one of many innocent victims. "This holy priest who died precisely in the moment in which he offered prayers for the entire Church

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer through the month of July: General Intention : Indigenous Peoples That indigenous peoples, whose identity and very existence are threatened, will be shown due respect. Evangelization: Latin America and the Caribbean That the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, by means of her mission to the continent, may announce the Gospel with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.

Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI will be honored on the 65th anniversary of his priestly ordination with a quiet ceremony in the Clementine Hall of the apostolic palace later this month. Joseph Ratzinger was ordained a priest for the Munich archdiocese on June 29, 1951, in Freising, Germany. He was 24. The Vatican celebration will occur June 28th. Pope Francis is expected to attend. See Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI's Vatican page for more.

Unfortunately today, there is growing confusion in society about gender, to the extent that gender ideology has destroyed personal meaning throughout North America. In response to the Obama administration’s recent guidelines on the use of bathrooms by those who call themselves transgendered, Cardinal Donald Wuerl emphasized that the human body "is not extraneous, but goes to our very essence." The Cardinal added: One of the enervating forces of our culture is the assertion that everything is up for grabs. What was once grasped as objective truth is now dismissed as mere construct, and there is a growing relativism that seeks to reconstruct the most fundamental realities. Last year we saw a societal redefinition of marriage and family. Today, the concept of humanity itself is called into question with an aggressive "gender" ideology which holds that whether a person is male or female is not an objective reality, but is subjectively determined. Increasingly, t

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer through the month of June: General Intention : Human Solidarity That the aged, marginalized, and those who have no one may find – even within the huge cities of the world – opportunities for encounter and solidarity. Evangelization: Seminarians and Novices That seminarians and men and women entering religious life may have mentors who live the joy of the Gospel and prepare them wisely for their mission.

Pope Francis may end the rift between the Vatican and the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). An influential SSPX leader, Father Franz Schmidberger, has written a memo that recommends accepting any offer by the Pope that would grant "an appropriate ecclesial structure" to the Society. Hopes were high during the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI for just such a rapprochement . The National Catholic Register reports: Pope Francis may soon offer the Society of St. Pius X regular canonical status within the Church, without requiring the acceptance of certain texts of the Second Vatican Council with which they disagree. It also appears the SSPX may itself be poised to take such a historic step, urging that "perhaps only Pope Francis is able to take this step, given his unpredictability and improvisation," according to an internal SSPX document that was leaked to the press in recent weeks. This would be a tremendous development and a positive fruit of Francis' "big

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer through the month of May: General Intention : Respect for Women That in every country of the world, women may be honored and respected and that their essential contribution to society may be highly esteemed. Evangelization: Holy Rosary That families, communities, and groups may pray the Holy Rosary for evangelization and peace.

George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow at  the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., is a leading observer of the Church. His commentary is indispensable to understanding Catholicism in the world today. His latest article, " The Merciful Grace of the Truth ", considers Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia , "The Joy of Love,". Weigel suggests the Church read and absorb Amoris Laetitia within that dyad of mercy and truth through which we strive to live in the imitation of Christ. He writes in part: The Holy Father set in motion these past two years of contention and, one hopes, constructive dialogue in the Church because he knows that marriage and the family are in deep trouble throughout the world, just as he knows that marriage, rightly understood, and the family, rightly understood, are the basic building blocks of a humane society: the family is the first school of freedom, because it is there that we first learn that f

Pope Francis' post-synod apostolic exhortation on the family has been the subject of rampant speculation since before the close of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family in October 2014. In the wake of Amoris Laetitia   the secular media has been predictably misleading, if not outright celebratory, in its assessment. Time online's headline proclaimed, " Pope Francis Pushes Church to be More Open to the Divorced ".   Newsday opined, " Pope Francis' 'The Joy of Love' says individual conscience should guide sex, marriage, family ". The International Business Times said, " Pope Francis’ Long-Awaited Document ‘Joy Of Love’ May Open Doors For Communion To Remarried Divorcées  The National Catholic Reporter and like-minded publications have characterized  Amoris Laetitia as a "radical shift" in the practice of the Church. In an article published in the National Catholic Register , Cardinal Raymo