BIG C CATHOLICS

In July 2013, three months after his election as pontiff, Pope Francis made comments during a press conference on the plane returning to the Vatican from Rio de Janeiro after the first apostolic visit of his papacy. Speaking in Italian, he responded to a question from Brazilian journalist, Ilze Scamparini, about a priest with same sex attraction [Monsignor Ricca] and the influence of the "gay lobby". Francis' answer was a paragraph in length, yet most media only reported one sentence: "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" The statement set off a frenzy of commentary and speculation without context or perspective.  The New York Times  expressed the sentiments of a majority of the fourth estate noting: Francis’s words could not have been more different from those of Benedict XVI, who in 2005 wrote that homosexuality was "a strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil," and an "objecti

While legislation and public witness are important to end abortion, our most powerful weapon is prayer. From the  Priests for Life website : The Catholic bishops of the United States have designated January 22 as a special day of prayer and penance in reparation for the massive killing that has resulted from the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision [handed down January 22, 1973] which permitted abortion throughout a woman's pregnancy. We at Priests for Life invite you to prepare spiritually for that day by joining a Novena that starts on January 14 and concludes on the 22nd . We invite you to say the following prayer each of those days, and to let us know [see end of post] that you have committed to say it. Prayer of Reparation [ Click here for Spanish – En Español ] God and Father of Life, You have created every human person, And have opened the way for each to have eternal life.  We live in the shadow of death. Tens of millions of your children have bee

From Laurence England's most excellent blog, That The Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill , is his thoughtfully compiled satirical book [i.e. humorous, as in, a fanciful, not as yet commissioned work],  The Pope Francis Little Book of Insults . Written the year of Pope Francis' election, it provides a tongue-in-cheek glimpse into the mind of the 266th Bishop of Rome. Below are just a few of the pontiff's best imagined put downs: "Luscious cakes, sweet dainties. Delectable, but not real Christians!" "Existential tourist!" "Anesthetised Christian!" "Christian hypocrites only interested in their formalities!" "They disguise themselves, they disguise themselves as good people: they make themselves up like little holy cards, looking up at heaven as they pray, making sure they are seen—they believe they are more righteous than others, they despise others!" "Sloth-diseased, acedic Christians!" "I think

The Catholic Herald  [UK] has an insightful commentary examining the decisions Pope Francis must make in the year ahead in what promises to be a decisive period of his pontificate. Depending on their outcomes, some of these stand to alter the Church substantially. One in particular, the question of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics, has the potential to defy Tradition and alter the nature of the Magisterium monumentally. Whatever His Holiness concludes, there are agonizing dilemmas to confront where the pitfalls are many. In " The Pope’s agonizing dilemma ", Father Mark Drew considers the Pope's managerial style and his decision making tendencies thus far. Upon his election, expectations were high that Francis would continue in earnest the first meaningful reform of the Roman Curia in decades. As Fr. Drew notes, the Pope’s governing style entails surrounding himself with a small cadre of trusted individuals, thereby bypassing Vatican procedures. By far

Editorial cartoon showing bishops as crocodiles attacking public schools with the collusion of Irish Catholic politicians, Thomas Nast, 1876. A statement deemed racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic or homophobic can subject the person responsible to public reprimand and disdain. However, hostile and vindictive statements about Roman Catholicism can be made with impunity. The following examples bespeak the mindset prevalent in the academy, the entertainment industry, the elite media and many who advance values based upon today's politically correct mentality. WARNING: The cases of anti-Catholicism chronicled here are offensive in the extreme . In 2012, The National Catholic Register, compiled these instances of anti-Catholicism . [An internet search will yield more recent occurrences.] "Piss Christ", is a 1987 photograph portraying a crucifix in a jar of the artist’s urine. Initially exhibited at the Stux Gallery in New York City, it won an award spo

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) When did Jesus know who He really was? We can reasonably assume that as a little boy He grew into knowledge of who He was. Somewhere (and I am speaking here of Jesus in his human nature) He moved from being a little boy to being a young man and along the way He became aware of the fact that He had a unique relationship with our Father in heaven. In His maturation he came to know who He really was and that would determine His destiny in life. We cannot possibly pinpoint when that realization came to full flower. But certainly at His baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptizer He had in full measure that realization. Certainly at that moment, the one we just heard about in today’s Gospel account, He was committing Himself to the destiny that lay in front of Him. A booming voice from heaven proclaimed: “You are my beloved Son. On you my favor rests.” Jesus knew that our heavenly Father h

A charge detractors of Christianity make to cast doubt on the Bible’s authenticity is the alleged lack of historical evidence for the assertions found in Scripture. The Bible employs different forms of literature to covey truths about God and the created world. Skeptics have long denied the facts put forth, particularly in the Bible’s historical books, as contrived and untrue. Modern day archeological discoveries, however, confirm the historical events and persons recorded in Sacred Scripture are both factually correct and historically valid. 1. The story of Abraham rescuing Lot is historically accurate. Chapter 14 in the book of Genesis tells the story of Abraham rescuing his nephew Lot from the four kings. The famous German biblical scholar, Julius Wellhausen, called the story "simply impossible." Contemporary archeological research proves the details of the account to be true. 2. The city of Ur existed. For over a century, conventional wisdom held that the city