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Brethren, Peace be with you! From time to time I have discussed here  the role of the faithful of the whole Church in receiving, proclaiming, and in a certain sense, "sanctioning" the faith of the Church. I receive with great joy the news that the Holy See has published a new document about this issue of the "sensus fidei" titled: Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church. I believe this document will serve a twofold purpose: First, the document will help us frame our discussions with our Sister Churches in the Eastern Orthodox communion for whom "active reception" of...

Yesterday, Senate Democrats their bid to approve legislation to “overturn” the Supreme Court’s decision protecting Hobby Lobby and other companies from being forced to comply with the HHS mandate that compels them to pay for abortion-causing drugs for their employees. Republicans were able to sustain their filibuster against the bill atedcruz7nd prevailed on a 56-43 vote, with Democrats voting to move to a vote on the pro-abortion bill and almost all Republicans uniting to vote against it. During the debate, pro-life Texas Senator Ted Cruz let Democrats have it. “If you’re litigating against nuns, you have probably done something wrong,”...

Featured Term (selected at random:REVOLUTION A radical and generally violent effort to overthrow a civil government or constitution. Essential to a revolution is that the change of regime is not brought about by peaceful evolution or mutual agreement between the power that withdraws and the power that takes over the new government. Revolutions are caused either by the masses or by an act of high officials in the government. In the latter case it is called a coup d'état. In the twelfth century John of Salisbury (1115-80), followed by others, held that the murder of a tyrant was permissible even...

Growing up in New Albany, Ind., during the 1950s, I never heard the term “domestic church,” but I knew what it meant. I knew it because my parents and my friends’ parents made their homes domestic churches, even before that phrase from our Catholic tradition was retrieved during the Second Vatican Council. I guess you could say that my childhood friends and neighbors were at home in church and in church at home. But what did it mean in practical terms that we experienced the family as a domestic church? For one thing, it meant that nearly every Catholic family...

My alma mater, The University of Chicago, was recently in the news for an overtly politically correct act for replacing its historic Bond Chapel's pews for Muslims to worship. This act is raising hackles reminiscent of the university's other, recent, tone-deaf decision to demolish the childhood home of former President Ronald Reagan, on its campus, and replace it with a parking lot and a commemorative plaque.The school, founded by the Rockefeller family in the late 19th century as a Baptist-affiliated institution of higher learning, with an English-style undergraduate college, and German-style graduate research school, today positions itself as completely non-denominational...

July 17, 2014Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Is 26:7-9, 12, 16-19 The way of the just is smooth;the path of the just you make level.Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD,we look to you;Your name and your titleare the desire of our souls.My soul yearns for you in the night,yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;When your judgment dawns upon the earth,the world’s inhabitants learn justice.O LORD, you mete out peace to us,for it is you who have accomplished all we have done. O LORD, oppressed by your punishment,we...

Catholic News Service photo Bishop Elias Zaidan visits Portland the weekend of July 19-20. Catholic Sentinel photo by Ed Langlois Abouna Jonathan Decker and Monk Anthony Joseph Alles at the Maronite monastery in Beaverton in 2011. Ed LangloisOf the Catholic Sentinel The variety of Catholic tradition and the plight of Christians in the Middle East will be at the forefront this weekend in Portland. The leader of Maronite Catholics in the western U.S. is visiting to ordain a Portland monk on the path to priesthood. Bishop Elias Zaidan of the St. Louis-based Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon...

A canon lawyer alleging a widespread cover-up of clergy sex misconduct in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has made her most detailed claims yet, accusing archbishops and their top staff of lying to the public and of ignoring the U.S. bishops' pledge to have no tolerance of priests who abuse.

Featured Term (selected at random:JUS JURANDUM A sworn oath. Any one of the oaths that the Church at times requires of the faithful, and especially of her priests. Such was the Oath Against Modernism, required of those teaching in seminaries, prescribed by Pope St. Pius X. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Mosul (Agenzia Fides) - The jihadist militiamen of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who since June 9 control Mosul and have proclaimed the Islamic Caliphate, have ordered civil servants to suspend any provision of food aid and gas cylinders to the Shiites, the Kurds and the few remaining Christians in Iraq's second city. This is confirmed to Fides Agency by Christian sources in Mosul, after the news had been launched by the Arab website www.ankawa.com. According to what was reported by the local official Fadel Younis, representatives of the Islamic Caliphate have announced that any infringement...

I begin with a piece, spotted by Fr Tim Finigan and reported in his indispensable blog The Hermeneutic of Continuity, which had been published in Sandro Magister’s blog—not his English one, Chiesa, but his Italian language blog for L’Espresso, Settimo Cielo.A few days ago, Magister told the story of a parish priest in the Italian diocese of Novara, Fr Tarcisio Vicario, who recently discussed the question of Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried. This is how he explained the Church’s teaching on the matter: “For the Church, which acts in the name of the Son of God, marriage...

I was privileged to give a talk to young people today, mostly late high school and early college. Here are some notes from the talkI. Faith - The world in which we lives says we are great if we are rich, good looking, popular, powerful, and possess many things. But none of that can save you. You can climb the ladder of success, but if it is leaning against the wrong wall you will climb it and go right over into Hell. And so Jesus says, What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and yet lose...

July 16, 2014Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Is 10:5-7, 13b-16 Thus says the LORD:Woe to Assyria! My rod in anger,my staff in wrath.Against an impious nation I send him,and against a people under my wrath I order himTo seize plunder, carry off loot,and tread them down like the mud of the streets.But this is not what he intends,nor does he have this in mind;Rather, it is in his heart to destroy,to make an end of nations not a few. For he says:“By my own power I have done it,and by my wisdom, for...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A papal astronomer won recognition for his ability to communicate accurately and clearly the discoveries of planetary science to the general public. U.S. Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, a planetary scientist and meteorite expert at the Vatican Observatory, was awarded the prestigious Carl Sagan Medal for "outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist," said the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences, which chooses the annual prize winner. In addition to significantly contributing to the public understanding of and enthusiasm for planetary science, Brother Consolmagno "occupies a unique position within our profession as a credible spokesperson...

Along with Mass and adoration, the Dominican sisters at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, N.J., gather for prayer seven times a day. Courtesy photo Within the walls of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, New Jersey, rows of simple crosses mark the graves of sisters who have gone before. It’s a potent symbol of life in the monastery, where women enter cloistered life intending never to leave, even in death.These Dominican nuns have been in this place of peace for almost 100 years, sustaining the Church every day through their prayer...

In a Monday letter to a Mexico City Vatican conference, Pope Francis wrote that the tens of thousands of Central American children illegally crossing into the United States should be “welcomed and protected.” Just days after President Obama visited Texas and pledged a solution to the US border crisis, the Pope said migrant children’s human rights are being violated. “Many people forced to emigrate suffer, and often, die tragically,” he said. “Many of their rights are violated. They are obliged to separate from their families and, unfortunately, continue to be the subject of racist and xenophobic attitudes.” The Pope also...

Featured Term (selected at random:DECRETALS A letter carrying authoritative decisions on matters of discipline, or the Pope's reply when he has been appealed to on a matter of discipline. The term is also applied to a collection of certain decretals such as Liber Sextus Decretalium, compiled by Pope Boniface VIII (1235-1303). (Etym. Latin decretale, a decree.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The leader of the ordinariate has issued an invitation to Anglicans following the Church of England’s vote to create women bishops. Mgr Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, invited Anglicans “considering their future” to attend an “exploration day” in September. “Having agreed to permit women priests in 1992, the Church of England’s decision to allow women bishops is the next logical step. What is undeniable is that both developments make harder the position of those within the Church of England who still long for corporate unity with the Catholic and Orthodox Churches,” he said....

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The General Synod of the Church of England voted July 14 to authorize the ordination of women as bishops and approved motions pledging to respect and work with people who believe that, theologically, the vote was a mistake. Before the vote, Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, told the synod that "to pass this legislation is to commit ourselves to an adventure in faith and hope. Like all adventures, it carries dangers ... uncertainties and for success will require integrity and courage." Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, England, greets Pope...

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson makes an announcement at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum July 14, 2014. Photo courtesy of the Knights of Columbus. Los Angeles, Calif., Jul 15, 2014 / 02:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Knights of Columbus have pledged $1.4 million for next year’s Special Olympics World Games, helping to cover participating athletes’ expenses for the Los Angeles event. “Our support exemplifies our commitment to the dignity of every person, our dedication to assisting with our neighbors’ needs whatever they may be, and our deep appreciation for the great work done by Special Olympics,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said in...