BIG C CATHOLICS

Justice Antonin Scalia was Catholic to his core. The following account from his life illustrates his devotion to the faith, his repudiation of political correctness, and his unapologetic defense of Divine Truth as taught by the Catholic Church. The Chicago Tribune reported that: [Scalia] worships at a suburban Virginia parish popular with conservative Catholics, who erected a monument to unborn children two years ago as a symbol to their opposition to abortion. While living in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, he once complained to the pastor about the parish becoming too trendy and "an ecclesiastical playpen." The Virginia parish where Justice Scalia worshiped was in the Arlington Diocese [It is also the diocese where the late Justice's son, Fr. Paul Scalia, is a priest]. Then, as now, Arlington is among the most orthodox dioceses in the nation with an abundance of seminarians. Source " No Contest: Top Court's Top Fighter Is Scalia – Verbal Combat Is

Risen , a new movie, premiering in theaters this Friday [Feb. 19th] depicts Clavius, a veteran, Roman Centurion, who is instructed by Pontius Pilate to investigate the rumors of Jesus having risen from the dead. Clavius is told to find the body of Yeshua [Jesus of Nazareth] in order to disprove and silence rampant speculation about the crucified rabbi. From the movies' promotional YouTube account: This February, witness one of the most important events in human history through the eyes of a nonbeliever. Risen is a depiction of events surrounding Christ's missing body after his crucifixion. Typically, Hollywood has little to offer Christians beyond mockery and derision. Risen appears to be an exception. Here is the movies' website . Below is a trailer.

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Oscar Wilde was a much-celebrated Anglo-Irish literary figure, very witty… and very worldly. He once wrote: “I can resist everything but temptation.” He lived in total self-indulgence, ridiculed Victorian moral norms, and died in Paris of meningitis in the year 1900. His view of life aptly ushered in the 20th century, particularly the cultural rebellions of the 1960’s and 1970’s. There are many today who live as Oscar Wilde lived. They regard temptations as irrelevant, things representing what they regard as hypocritical middle class moral norms, norms that constrict us and deny us our freedom. We are to live, many claim, with only one self-indulgent moral norm: “If it feels good, do it. Anything is all right so long as it doesn’t hurt anybody.” We could spend hours talking about questions dealing with the nature of evil. What is evil? What is the essence of evil? Why is there evil, anywa

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a brilliant jurist, legal scholar and devout Catholic, died yesterday at age 79. His opinions for the majority and, especially, in descent, displayed his inquisitive mind, incomparable intellect and sharp wit. Time online's profile of Scalia examines the role that the late justice's faith played in his life and decisions: A devout Italian Catholic and a Ronald Reagan appointee, Scalia was one of the most conservative members of the bench, and he was known not just for his legal mind, but for his Catholic core. Scalia grew up with a devout mother, attended the Jesuit high school Xavier in New York City, was valedictorian at the Jesuit Georgetown University and featured a portrait of St. Thomas More, the martyr and patron saint of lawyers, in his Supreme Court office. One of his nine children, Paul Scalia, is a Catholic priest in the Arlington diocese of northern Virginia.   Justice Scalia, one of the most consequential Americans in rec

The Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill was signed by both after their lengthy, congenial and historic conversation in Havana, Cuba this morning. The Declaration is wide-ranging and reads in part: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you" (2 Cor 13:13). 1. By God the Father’s will, from which all gifts come, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit Consolator, we, Pope Francis and Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, have met today in Havana. We give thanks to God, glorified in the Trinity, for this meeting, the first in history. It is with joy that we have met like brothers in the Christian faith who encounter one another "to speak face to face" (2 Jn 12), from heart to heart, to discuss the mutual relations between the  Churches, the crucial problems of our faithful, and the outlook for the progress of human civili

CNA/EWTN News reports that Pope Francis' post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the family will be published at the end of March. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia disclosed the news at a priests' conference in Portugal, according to Il Sismografo . Speaking of the document, Archbishop Paglia said: I am convinced that the Apostolic Exhortation will be a hymn to love, to a love that will care for the well-being of children, that is open to wounded families who need strength, that wants to be close to the elder, a love that the whole of humanity needs.  The pontiff's long awaited apostolic exhortation will focus largely on last years' synod whose theme was "the vocation and mission of the family in the church and the modern world." Moreover, Edward Pentin at the National Catholic Register writes that: Well informed sources have told the Register that the document, which observers believe will probably be released on March 19 — the feast of St. Joseph and the

Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill held an historic meeting this morning in Havana, Cuba. The main topics discussed were the persecution of Christians and the worldwide assault on marriage and the family. It is unknown whether Patriarch Kirill raised the concerns of the Russian Orthodox leadership about the Byzantine-rite Ukrainian Catholic Church. The Crux news site has an excellent article on that complicated conflict , by Father Andriy Chirovsky, a Ukrainian Catholic priest in Canada. Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill signed a joint declaration following their conversation. Previously, no Roman Pontiff had ever met with a Russian Orthodox Patriarch. St. John Paul II long tried to visit Moscow. On several occasions, the Vatican made efforts to arrange a summit meeting, however, negotiations always broke down. Russian Orthodox officials said that a meeting would not be appropriate until conflicts between the Vatican and the Moscow patriarchate were resolved. Effor