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American journalist James Foley, who appears to have been killed by Islamic State terrorists Below: Fr Paul Gousse leaves the Foley family home in Rochester, Boston (PA) Islamic State have released a gruesome video appearing to show American photo journalist James Wright Foley being beheaded by a masked militant. Foley went missing in Syria in November 2012 while working for the GlobalPost agency.Mr Foley came from a Catholic family in Rochester, New Hampshire. On Tuesday Fr Paul Gousse, of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, where the Foleys are parishioners, spent about 45 minutes at the house before leaving without...

His name is Andy, he is 12 years old. He was taken by CPS from his guardian and put into a foster home. I have reason to suspect he was abused, but am waiting for everything to come out in the wash with the trial. The child has suffered so much in his early life and all he ever wanted was a home. Pray the justice system works and this boy finds it.

Featured Term (selected at random:OMNIPRESENCE God being simultaneously wherever he is, since he is present everywhere. The divine omnipresence is twofold, by nature and by grace. By nature God is present in all things by essence, knowledge, and power. This is the presence of a cause in the things that share in God's goodness. By his essence, he is substantially in all things, including the created spiritual essences (angels, demons, human souls) as the immediate origin of their existence. by his knowledge, he exercises his wisdom directly in all creation down to the least details. By his power, he operates...

As you may know, the Catholic Faith was illegal in the Roman Empire prior to 313 AD, when the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan permitting the Christian Faith to flourish publicly. Prior to that time, Church buildings as we know them today were rare—Mass was usually celebrated in houses.Now be careful here; these “houses” were usually rather sizable, with a central courtyard or large room that permitted something a little more formal than Mass “around the dining room table.” I remember being taught (incorrectly) that these early Masses were informal, emphasized a relaxed, communal quality, and were celebrated...

August 20, 2014Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church    Reading 1 Ez 34:1-11 The word of the Lord came to me:Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,in these words prophesy to them to the shepherds:Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israelwho have been pasturing themselves!Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?You have fed off their milk, worn their wool,and slaughtered the fatlings,but the sheep you have not pastured.You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sicknor bind up the injured.You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the...

There is a great deal of confusion in the Church today as to whether or not Muslims worship the same God as do we. In fact many prelates, including our own Cardinal McCarrick, either are honestly confused about the matter or they exploit general confusion so that they may appear to be "ecumenical". Indeed, nine years ago at Catholic University His Eminence addressed some Muslim dignitaries; in that address he invoked "allah" three times but he gave not one mention to Jesus Christ. That address, which can be called de facto idolatry, is here. Cardinal McCarrick and other devotees of...

The Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul has warned that Christians around the world would face suffering from Islamists as his diocese has, and decisions that challenge the underpinnings of Western political ideas. "Our sufferings today are the prelude of those you, Europeans and Western Christians, will also suffer in the near future," Archbishop Emil Nona told Italian daily Corriere della Sera Aug. 9 from Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Archbishop Nona has been forced from his home by the Islamic State, a caliphate recently established in Iraq and Syria. He is among five bishops who have been forced from Mosul....

Your Catholic Voice Foundation is continuing in its sincere and faithful mission to save and support Chaldean Catholics displaced by the Islamic State in northern Iraq. These amazing and resilient people belong to some of the oldest Christian communities and societies on the planet. This is literally true, their Christian communities easily date to the time of the earliest apostles. Despite their ancient, fruitful and peaceful presence - they have never fought wars against their neighbors - they have been systematically rooted out of their homes and forced to flee. Those who stayed behind have been killed in one of...

A sacrilegious television show on the Cinemax cable television channel is coming under fire from Catholics today because it features a nun performing an abortion. The Knick is a television drama series on Cinemax directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Clive Owen. The program looks at the professional and personal lives of Dr. John W. Thackery (played by Owen) and the staff at the fictional Knickerbocker Hospital (“the Knick”) during the early part of the twentieth century. Abortion was not legal during this time. theknickThe August 15 episode of “The Knick” features Sister Harriet, a nurse played by Cara Seymour...

The Pope recalls the teaching of the Catechism about the legitimacy of halting aggressors, but he does not endorse American bombings. He also reminds us of the consequences of recent wars waged by Western powers in the area and values the role of the United Nations ANDREA TORNIELLIVatican City “Today we are in a world at war, everywhere! Someone told me: you know, Father, that we are witnessing the Third World War - but waged in chunks, in  different chapters”. Francis’ words on war, and on the bombs that kill both guilty and innocent alike, hitting women and children, describe...

Pope Francis and Archbishop Georg Ganswein in St. Peter's Square after the Wednesday general audience, May 7, 2014. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA. Vatican City, Aug 19, 2014 / 12:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Before any international trip Pope Francis visits Benedict XVI, a key Vatican archbishop revealed, noting the good relations between the two and how Pope Francis is carrying forward Benedict's vision.   Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, who serves as prefect of the Pontifical Household, spoke in an all-out interview Aug. 15 with the Austrian Catholic press agency in “Kath.net” while he was in the diocese in Freibourg. There he led  Aug....

Onufriy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) was elected to his post Aug. 13, 2014. Credit: Maksym Brusnika. Kyiv, Ukraine, Aug 19, 2014 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The newly elected head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate must decide whether that Church can be independent from Russia, Ukraine's eastern neighbor with which it is in conflict, analysts say. On Aug. 13, Metropolitan Onufriy was elected Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, making him the primate of the UOC-MP, which is one of the three primary Orthodox Churches in Ukraine. He...

The mission of IDC is threefold: awareness, advocacy and unity. First, IDC hopes to increase awareness among our fellow citizens, the media, and policymakers about the faith and courage of those persecuted individuals and communities in the Middle East, particularly Christians and religious minorities, whose plight is worsening by the day. We are told in Hebrews 13 to continue to remember those mistreated as if we ourselves are suffering. As Christians, we are called to band together to shine a bright light on this ongoing, deteriorating situation in the Middle East, and to make it an issue of urgency for...

Pope's relatives die in road accidentThe wife and two children of Pope Francis's nephew have been killed in a car crash in Argentina, officials say.His nephew, Emanuel Bergoglio, was badly hurt in the accident in the Cordoba area, north-east of the capital, Buenos Aires.The Pope was "profoundly saddened" by the news, his spokesman Francesco Lombardi said.snip--His nephew's family was reportedly returning home from a break when their car collided with a lorry at James Craik, some 580km (360 miles) north-east of Buenos Aires shortly before midnight.His wife Valeria Carmona, 39, and their two children Jose, 2, and eight-month-old Antonio...

Featured Term (selected at random:IMITATION OF SAINTS The practice of striving to put into practice in one's own life the virtues that the saints practiced in theirs. This is one of the reasons why the Church canonizes saints, to give the faithful secure patterns of holiness in every period of Christian history and on every level of human society. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

This coming August 22, the Feast of Mary, Queen of Heaven will be celebrated throughout the world. Deepertruth will focus this Tuesday on this most important topic. The Marian teaching “Queen of Heaven” is steeped in Old Testament tradition. There are those who misunderstand this teaching and will even claim it is Pagan. Nothing can be furthest from the truth. Some will surely want to raise the scripture coming from Jeremiah 7:16-18, “You, now, do not intercede for this people; raise not in their behalf a pleading prayer! Do not urge me, for I will not listen to you. Do...

(This is a continuation from Msgr Pope's column from yesterday, posted here)It is critical for us who would preach the Gospel to ponder what sorts of presuppositions our listeners bring to the conversation. Today, sadly, there are many trends that have poisoned the culture and make our task much more difficult.Yesterday we explored six problem areas. Today four more. It helps to describe modern mindsets not to despair of them, but rather to look at them with some insight rather than being only vaguely aware of them. If we are more clear on the presuppositions that people bring to the...

August 19, 2014Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Ez 28:1-10 The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are haughty of heart,you say, “A god am I!I occupy a godly thronein the heart of the sea!”—And yet you are a man, and not a god,however you may think yourself like a god.Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,there is no secret that is beyond you.By your wisdom and your intelligenceyou have made riches for yourself;You have put gold and...

Sister Nancy Schreck’s keynote address to the LCWR 2014 annual assembly was equally confused and defiant.Sister Carol Zinn, a Sister of St. Joseph, who is president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, receives a blessing before her Aug. 12 address at the annual LCWR assembly held in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 12."We have been so changed that we are no longer at home in the culture and church in which we find ourselves.”This quotation from the keynote address (PDF) of Franciscan Sister Nancy Schreck to the August 12-15 annual assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) is startling,...

“Potentially unethical.” That’s how one expert described an Italian scientist’s plan to perform a “head transplant” by severing two heads at the same time, then cooling and flushing out the ‘recipient’ head before attaching it to its new body with polymer glue.That is “POTENTIALLY unethical?” Making one person out of two, and throwing away the unused halves, is only “potentially” unethical?Shock and awe.* * * * *Neuroscientist Sergio Canavero is undeterred by criticism, however. Canavero now reports that it’s possible to merge bone marrow, surgically cut with an ultra-sharp knife, when fusing one person’s head onto another person’s spine. The...