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Father José Gabriel Funes, the director of the Vatican Observatory, said he was "very skeptical" that the discovery of Kepler-452b will lead to an encounter with extraterrestrial life in the near future. Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the priest reviewed the positions of St. Albert the Great, Nicholas of Cusa, and others on the possibility of extraterrestrial life and said that Jesuit Father Angelo Secchi, a pioneer in astrophysics, thought that there were other inhabited worlds. "It seems that the vast majority of stars in our galaxy ... at least potentially can have planets where life could develop," Father Funes...

After weeks of speculation and protests by Christian leaders in Detroit, the unthinkable took place.Just after 11p.m. on July 25, a satanic organization unveiled a 9-foot statue of the goat-headed Baphomet, a pagan symbol of Lucifer. The 1-ton statue features two young children looking up adoringly at the devil.Leaders of the Satanic Temple have been saying for weeks they planned to unveil the statue somewhere in Detroit and leave it there temporarily before moving it to Arkansas, where they plan to set it beside the Ten Commandments at the State Capitol. This is the same statue they attempted to erect...

Of Plenty, Population, and Trust: A Further Reflection on the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes Msgr. Charles Pope • July 26, 2015 • The multiplication of the loaves and fishes that we read about at Sunday Mass this week was a miracle so astonishing that it is recounted in all four Gospels. And a second, similar instance is recorded in another Gospel. In other words, this sort of miracle by Jesus is recounted five times within the four Gospels.There are many theological reasons for this. Clearly, Jesus was fulfilling the promise of Moses: that after him a greater One...

Pro-gay faith groups have met Dr Eamon Martin, the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. The meeting with the Archbishop was requested by Faith in Marriage Equality (FiME) during the recent referendum campaign on same sex marriage. The meeting took place at the Archbishop's residence in Armagh, on Wednesday, July 22. Dr Richard O'Leary of Faith in Marriage Equality said “We believe it is a positive step to open dialogue with the Catholic Church as a contribution to the 'reality check' signalled by the Church after the vote for civil marriage equality.” He was referring to the...

The source & nature of Church authority is one of the major issues that beginning Catholics have to examine and come to terms with. The Catholic Church makes an amazing claim: it teaches, governs, and sanctifies with the authority of Christ himself. Catholics believe that this gift of Church authority is one of the jewels that Christ has given to us as an aid to our salvation. Keep three things in mind: There is a large amount of evidence in Scripture to support the Catholic Church’s claim to authority, as well as from early Church history. The nature and scope...

July 27, 2015   Monday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 32:15-24, 30-34 Moses turned and came down the mountainwith the two tablets of the commandments in his hands,tablets that were written on both sides, front and back;tablets that were made by God,having inscriptions on them that were engraved by God himself.Now, when Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting,he said to Moses, “That sounds like a battle in the camp.”But Moses answered, “It does not sound like cries of victory,nor does it sound like cries of defeat;the sounds that I hear are cries...

A letter to the Ukrainian president said the constitutional ammendment would 'seriously threaten' family life Ukrainian Church leaders condemned plans to permit same-sex partnerships under a series of constitutional reforms. The Ukrainian parliament has been debating the issue of same-sex partnerships while plans call for adopting the amendments in autumn. The amendments were drafted as pro-Russia rebels continued to hold the eastern region of the country and also have been criticised by Russia for allegedly failing to include enough autonomy for the separatist-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as outlined in a February cease-fire agreement. The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and...

"Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament... There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth, and more than that: Death. By the divine paradox, that which ends life, and demands the surrender of all, and yet by the taste -or foretaste- of which alone can what you seek in your earthly relationships (love, faithfulness, joy) be maintained, or take on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, which every man's heart desires....

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey BlogThis one is hard to wrap your mind around, Save Jerseyans.The obvious takeaway will be “is there anyone, or anything, left that’s worthy of our trust?”Background: “Six Camden-based charities will receive funds through the Francis Fund, a short-term fund in honor of the papal visit” ahead of Pope Francis’s much-celebrated World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this fall. It’s apparently a project of the event’s affiliated Hunger and Homelessness Committee; Sister Mary Scullion, a Sister of Mercy, chairs the committee, and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput provides a welcome message on the site.New Jersey...

If we had the name of a Republican politician who was invited to attend last week’s Vatican conference on climate change and human trafficking—any Republican, just one Republican—we might feel just a bit better about the result. But the strongly partisan cast of the final statement that issued from that conference, together with the strongly partisan cast of characters in attendance, creates the impression that this event was not so much a conference as a political rally. California’s Governor Jerry Brown was there. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was there. Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh was there. But among the...

What Are Your Five Loaves and Two Fishes? A Homily for the 17th Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • July 25, 2015 • We have in today’s gospel the very familiar miracle of the loaves and the fishes. One is tempted to say, “Oh, that one …” and then tune out. But the gospel today contains a personal appeal from the Lord’s lips to your (my) ears: “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”Immediately, objections begin to pop up in our minds. But let’s be still and allow the Lord to instruct us by...

July 26, 2015   Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Kgs 4:42-44 A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God,twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits,and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” But his servant objected,“How can I set this before a hundred people?” Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat.” “For thus says the LORD,‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’” And when they had eaten, there was some left over,as the LORD had said. Responsorial Psalm Ps 145:10-11,...

I have seen firsthand a variety of experiences where workers united in cooperatives and other forms of community organization were able to create work where there were only crumbs of an idolatrous economy. I have seen some of you here, recuperated businesses, local fairs and cooperatives of paper collectors are examples of that popular economy is born of exclusion and which, slowly, patiently and resolutely adopts solidary forms which dignifies it. How different this is than the situation which results when those left behind by the formal market are exploited like slaves.” — Pope Francis, Santa Cruz de la Sierra,...

Concerned parishioners gathered outside the residence of New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan on July 23, demonstrating against plans to remove a beloved icon from the Church of Our Saviour. Although Cardinal Dolan was out of town, archdiocesan officials met briefly with a few of the demonstrators, including Ken Woo, the artist who responsible for the stunning Christ Pantocrator. The meeting was described as “productive,” leaving some hope that the archdiocese would intervene to save the artwork. The Christ Pantocrator is the most important of a series of icons done by Woo at the request of Father George Rutler, who...

A Catholic politician sued the Obama administration, arguing that as a Catholic he has a right to be able to purchase health insurance that doesn't cover contraceptives, sterilization procedures, and abortifacients. Paul Wieland serves in the Missouri House. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He has three daughters, who, because of the actions of the Obama administration, will have access to free contraceptives. “As a parent, it is disturbing,” said Wieland in an older news report. “We value our faith and make a sacrifice to teach our children the faith, to send them to Catholic schools. We...

“Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” ~Saul Alinsky Chicago was home of Saul Alinsky, the infamous founder of community organizing, who penned his infamous manifesto, Rules for Radicals. Borrowing a page from his creed for leftists, Alinsky encourage political operatives to agitate, foster resentments, fan hostilities and create a mass army of malcontents. ACORN, SEIU and other union thug organization serve as the model Alinsky community organizations. Hailing from the rough and tumble political landscape of Al Capone and the Daley machine, where politics is a blood sport, the hard ball politics played by the Vatican...

Regard this essay as a qualified mea culpa. I have long maintained that there is no point in arguing against “gay marriage,” because there are no arguments for it. To argue that a “homosexual” has no right to marry another man is not unlike arguing that a unicorn has no right to be a computer programmer. The proposition is absurd on its face, and so to argue against it is to offer it unwarranted credibility. As evidence, I have remarked that at no time before the late twentieth century—at least within the boundaries of Western civilization—had anyone contemplated marriage between...

August 2, 2015 Question: Jesus says, “I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” (Lk 5:32). But I thought the Scriptures said that no one is righteous and that to say we are without sin makes God a liar (1 Jn 1:8, 10). Why does Jesus imply that there are some who are righteous?— Steven Manning, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Answer: Jesus may be using the expression ironically, as if to say, “Well, since God is in the business of saving sinners, maybe you’d better get into that category if you seek his graces.” Thus, Jesus is not...

Q: In Latin America, the Pope delivered a sharp speech against capitalism, calling the relentless pursuit of prophets the "dung of the devil." A lot of people are wondering, will he bring a similar message to the United States this September? A: I don't know if the Pope wants to repeat that kind of speech.

I recall those days, during my “conservative” adolescence, when it was shocking to hear Bishop Fellay, or a priest of the Society of St. Pius X, say, “Rome has lost the faith.” Unaware of the entirely valid and utterly crucial distinction that is to be made between “Eternal Rome” and “Modernist Rome,” I wondered, how could this be true? No longer. In any case, if ever one was compelled to question whether or not the predominant crop of men running the show in Rome today, objectively speaking, hold the Catholic faith, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has provided...