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The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published a Circular Letter entitled “The Ritual Expression of the Gift of Peace at Mass” on July 8.  Pope Francis approved it the previous day and ordered its publication. The letter treats the question of the Sign of Peace, resolving the question whether the Holy See would move the Sign of Peace to earlier in the Mass. The decision was made to leave the Sign of Peace where it is. The Letter explains: In the Roman liturgical tradition, the exchange of peace is placed before Holy Communion with its...

Showing his support for those suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease, the superintendent of Catholic schools for the Cincinnati Archdiocese took part in the ice bucket challenge Aug. 21. Superintendent Jim Rigg was joined by Tom Otten, principal of Elder Catholic High School, on the school’s campus. The challenge has taken the nation by storm to raise money in support of research into the disease, which is formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure and no proven treatments. In the challenge, people are asked to share videos through...

Pope Francis meets Cardinal Filoni back in August (CNS) Cardinal Fernando Filoni said Pope Francis “was really taken” by the cardinal’s description of Christians and other minorities forced from their homes in north-western Iraq by militias belonging to the Islamic State terrorist group.The Pope met Cardinal Filoni early on Thursday, the morning after the cardinal returned to the Vatican following a visit to Iraq on August 13-20 as Francis’s envoy to besieged minorities there.“He was very attentive,” the cardinal said of the Pope, “and he let me speak at length. He took to heart all the situations I spoke about:...

At The Spectator there is a must read piece by Damian Thompson for anyone who is puzzled about what Pope Francis may be up to, especially in regard to the Roman Curia.Here is an excerpt with my emphases: [...]As a Latin American who didnÂ’t know his way around Rome when he became pope, he approaches the Curia as an outsider. That is why the cardinals elected him. They did not imagine that this previously austere figure, who even as a prince of the church travelled on buses dressed as a simple priest, would turn on the charm for journalists and...

If you’ve been watching the nightly news and wondering how in the world you can possibly help amidst the rising tide of violence that seems to be running rampant, mark your calendars for September 6-7. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a special collection that will enable each of us to help with the work being done by Catholic Relief Services, Caritas, and other Catholic agencies in the region. CRS food distribution. CRS food distribution. Over at the CRS website, you’ll find a comprehensive overview of steps...

Featured Term (selected at random:VATICAN SECRET ARCHIVES Repository of confidential documents of the Holy See, going back to the early centuries. Deterioration of the original papyri, transfers, and political upheavals caused the almost complete loss of the collections earlier than Pope Innocent III. In the fifteenth century the Archives were kept in Castel Sant'Angelo. In 1810, Napoleon ordered the Archives of the Holy See to be transferred to Paris, and though later returned to Rome many documents were lost. The Archives are now housed in a special building off the Piazza of St. Peter's. to the Archives is attached the...

Pope Francis will celebrate a Mass next August to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, an Argentine cardinal has revealed. Speaking at the Armenian Catholic cathedral in Buenos Aires, Cardinal Mario Poli said that the Pontiff will celebrate the commemorative Mass in St. Peter’s basilica. The date for the Mass has not yet been announced.

A federal judge in Pittsburgh on Wednesday granted a permanent injunction to the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg and two of its diocesan affiliates that halts the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act. The injunction order by U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab prevents the Department of Health and Human Services from imposing fines related to the act. In May, the diocese, Catholic Charities in Greensburg and St. John the Evangelist Regional Catholic School in Uniontown sued the department, claiming that requirements for health insurance covering abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, contraceptives and related counseling infringes on their religious beliefs. In granting a...

If social Tweets are anything to go by, China, North Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia displayed little to no interest in Pope Francis’ recent trip to Korea. According to the Italian research firm Datalytics which analyses global Tweet data, the four Asian countries “almost completely” failed to comment on the August 14-18 trip on Twitter. Twitter is the only social platform that can currently be “mined” for data to see trends in social conversations in real time, as events are happening. On its Tweet geolocation finder, Datalytics has placed a sole marker beneath China’s southern edges, indicating that anywhere from 10-1000...

Erbil (Agenzia Fides) - The defense of the attacked is an absolute right. But only "the forces of the State should take charge of this defense", while the creation of differentiated militia on ethno-religious basis "can destroy Iraq". This is how - according to Lebanese sources - the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans Louis Raphael I expressed himself during his participation in the initiatives and meetings organized by the Delegation of the Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches that arrived on Wednesday, August 20 in Erbil, capital of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, to express their closeness to refugees...

Pope Francis phoned the bereaved family of a U.S. journalist killed by Islamic State militants in Syria. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the pope phoned relatives of the late James Foley on Aug. 21 to console them for their loss and assure them of his prayers. The call to the Foley family in Rochester, New Hampshire, came in the afternoon New Hampshire time. Father Lombardi released no additional details. According to The Associated Press, U.S. officials confirmed a graphic video released Aug. 19 that showed Islamic State fighters beheading Foley, a 1996 graduate of Marquette University who had...

Some years ago a woman (and parishioner) told me, almost in passing, me that she and her husband were planning to divorce. Knowing that she had two young children, both under 10, I asked her in so many words, “What about the children?” Unabashedly she assured me that they were in fact divorcing for the sake of the children. Perhaps she saw my bewildered, and dubious look, so she added, “We don’t want them to experience all the yelling and bickering.” “Hmm…,” Said I, “Well then stop the bickering and yelling…get what ever help you need, but don’t make the...

August 22, 2014Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary    Reading 1 Ez 37:1-14 The hand of the LORD came upon me,and led me out in the Spirit of the LORDand set me in the center of the plain,which was now filled with bones.He made me walk among the bones in every directionso that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain.How dry they were!He asked me:Son of man, can these bones come to life?I answered, “Lord GOD, you alone know that.”Then he said to me:Prophesy over these bones, and say to them:Dry...

Yes we will be shunned and scorned for bringing up these important problems with Vatican II documents. But, all the prophets were shunned and killed for criticizing the leaders of the people of God, the Israelites. We are so blessed to be traditional Catholics and to know there was a Catholic Church and many councils before 1963.

UPDATE 21 Aug afternoon:I received an email that the consecrated Host has been delivered up to Archbp. Coakley.I hope there was only one and that this event is being shut down by prayers and public sensibility._______ ORIGINAL Aug 21, 2014 @ 9:37 _____I read at the National Catholic Register that His Excellency Most Reverend Paul Coakley, Archbishop of Oklahoma City has brough a suit against the people who would perpetrate a public Satanic event, a black mass. OKLAHOMA CITY — Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City filed a lawsuit at noon today [20 Aug] to stop the satanic black...

The consecrated host, who Oklahoma City's Archbishop claims was stolen by Satanic Priest Adam Daniels for use in September's “Black Mass”, has been returned.An attorney representing the satanic church presented the host to a catholic priest in Oklahoma City, Thursday afternoon.8/21/2014 Related Story: OKC Archbishop Files Lawsuit Over Black MassArchbishop Paul Coakley previously filed a lawsuit, asking a district judge to stop the Black Mass, scheduled for Sept. 21. With the return of the host, Coakley has agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice. Daniels released the following statement regarding the incident:"I, Dastur Adam Daniels, returned this consecrated host to...

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Addressing journalists on his return from his intense five-day visit to South Korea late Monday (Aug. 18), Pope Francis bantered with reporters and lightheartedly said he may only have “two or three” years left to live. The 77-year-old pontiff covered a range of topics on the flight back to the Vatican — from war-torn Iraq and his desire to visit the U.S. next year to his personal health, hinting he may retire early. He was asked how he lived with the immense popularity he has generated around the world, evident when crowds chanted his name on the...

BEIRUT (CNS) -- A delegation of Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs visited Irbil, Iraq, to show their support and solidarity with the more than 100,000 Christians and minorities displaced in the country by the advance of Islamist militants. Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholics, said the Aug. 20 trip was "a first step in the implementation of the statement issued by the patriarchs," referring to a special summit Aug. 7 to address the crisis facing Christians in Iraq and Syria. ebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, the patriarch of Maronite Catholics who headed a delegation of Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs...

Vatican City, Aug 21, 2014 / 03:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has reportedly called the family of U.S. journalist James Foley, who was beheaded by ISIS militants earlier this week. According to NBC News, a Vatican spokesperson said Thursday that the Pope called Foley’s family, who was grateful and moved by the gesture. On Aug. 19, the Islamic State (ISIS), a militant group that controls territory in Syria and Iraq, released a graphic video titled “A Message to America” which shows the beheading of Foley, who had gone missing in Syria in 2012. U.S. officials have now confirmed the...

I read at the National Catholic Register that His Excellency Most Reverend Paul Coakley, Archbishop of Oklahoma City has brough a suit against the people who would perpetrate a public Satanic event, a black mass. OKLAHOMA CITY — Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City filed a lawsuit at noon today [20 Aug] to stop the satanic black mass that organizers are planning to stage next month in the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall.The lawsuit asks the Oklahoma County Sheriff‘s Office to retrieve the consecrated host that the event‘s organizers claim to have, and return it to Oklahoma City...