Vatican News—Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, has released another critique of the Synod on Synodality, arguing that the ongoing discussion and discernment process offers “two opposing visions” of the nature, organization, and role of the Church. On the one hand “On the one hand, the Church is presented as founded…
ACI Prensa—Four bishops from the Mexican state of Guerrero recently met with members of organized crime in an effort to seek peace in a region shaken by violent clashes and death. During a Feb. 14 press conference, Bishop José de Jesús González of the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa said that the prelates of the area “began…
OSV News—With the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers set to square off in Super Bowl LVIII, two faith-based nonprofits each stand to win big — thanks to a friendly wager between the Catholic bishops in the teams’ respective cities. Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco and Bishop James V. Johnston of Kansas…
Homily at the Mass for the Walk for Life West Coast; Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary the New Eve Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, January 20, 2024 — Readings: Rev 21:1-5a; Is 61:10a-d, f, 11; 62:2-3; Jn 2:1-11 The entrance chant for our Mass today – “All the earth will worship…
Dearest Brothers and Sisters, May the Lord give you Peace! Tonight’s Gospel echoes the voice of a deep feeling, which I believe we all share: “there was no room for them” (Lk. 2:7). As it was for Mary and Joseph so it seems for us today that there is no room for Christmas. For too…
One of the titles by which we address Our Blessed Mother in the Litany of Loreto is Mirror of Justice (Speculum Iustitiae). The title reminds us that we see in Mary the image of how to live in obedience to God’s law and so grow in the likeness of Christ, that is, grow in the…
CNA—At a congressional hearing on Thursday, Nov. 30, members of Congress and human rights activists urged Nicaragua dictator Daniel Ortega to immediately release imprisoned Catholic Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who they said is being mistreated and possibly tortured. U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Hearing The hearing, which was held by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global…
Word on Fire—Now that I’ve had a bit of time to readjust to my normal rhythm and to think through the rather extraordinary experience of the last month in Rome, I would like to share some impressions of the Synod on Synodality, even as I will endeavor not to violate the pope’s request that we…
In his sixth pastoral letter on male spirituality, Maronite Bishop Gregory Mansour says that “fatherhood is expected of all men, whether biological, natural, or spiritual.” In the Oct. 12 letter titled “The man of God is a man for others: Some themes in men’s spirituality,” Mansour, said that there are “some worrisome trends” in the…
LifeSiteNews—The following is the official English statement from Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary of Astana, Kazakhstan, in response to the news that Pope Francis has removed Bishop Joseph Strickland from his Diocese of Tyler. “The one charge which is now sure to secure severe punishment is the careful keeping of the traditions of the Fathers.” These…
CNA—Beginning Aug. 4, 2022, Rolando Álvarez, the bishop of Matagalpa and the apostolic administrator of Estelí in Nicaragua, was prevented from leaving his residence by the Nicaraguan police. Two weeks later in the middle of the night, the police broke into the residence, abducted him, and took him to Managua, where he was held under…
CNA—Just days before the Synod on Synodality kicked off its first round of meetings at the Vatican, a letter from Cardinal Joseph Zen was leaked to media, voicing serious concerns to cardinals and bishops worldwide about the gathering in Rome, and advocating for changes to the synod process as well as spirited discussions of the…
Following a report that Pope Francis and Vatican officials held a meeting earlier this month to discuss requesting the resignation of Tyler, Texas, Bishop Joseph Strickland, the prelate said on Wednesday he has not been contacted by the Vatican about such matters. In addition, Strickland said if Pope Francis were to remove him from office…
CNA—Addressing a packed audience of approximately 1,000 on the campus of Harvard University on Sunday, Bishop Robert Barron offered those in attendance a window into the “Catholic intellectual tradition” by emphatically proclaiming: “The glory of God is man fully alive!” The founder of the Catholic media apostolate Word on Fire, Barron is one of the…
Cardinal-elect Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, recently spoke with ACI Mena, CNA’s news partner agency in the Middle East, about increasing attacks on Christians by Israeli extremists, his hope for Christians in the Holy Land, and his surprise at being named a cardinal by Pope Francis. How widespread are the recent attacks against…
(full text follows) The Role of Canon Law In the period immediately preceding the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and, even more so, in the post-Conciliar period, the Church’s canonical discipline was called into question at its very foundations. The crisis of canon law had its origin in the same philosophical presuppositions which were inspiring a…
The full text reprinted below of Denver Archibishop Samuel J. Aquila’s new pastoral letter on the Eucharist, issued August 4, 2023, to mark the second year of the National Eucharistic Revival and the Parish Year. (bold added by CBJ for readability) “I am the bread of life … For my flesh is true food, and…
CNA, CBJ—The Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops has completed a formal investigation of Bishop Joseph E. Strickland and the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, according to multiple media reports and confirmed by EWTN News. Apolstolic Visitation The inquiry, known as an apostolic visitation, marks a rare though not unprecedented intervention by Rome into a U.S. diocese and…
“Love for his wife as mother of their children and love for the children themselves are for the man the natural way of understanding and fulfilling his own fatherhood. Above all where social and cultural conditions so easily encourage a father to be less concerned with his family or at any rate less involved in…
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco wrote a masterful summary of the history of violence against Catholics in the U.S., including felony crimes committed recently in San Francisco and other cities. Vandals get off with a misdemeanor charge for defacing a statue as police looked on. Below are clips of the original story that…
