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The Archbishop of Canterbury today issued a "profound apology" to the lesbian and gay Christian community. In a powerful address to General Synod Dr Rowan Williams warned that any schism within the church would represent of a "betrayal" of God's mission. But he made clear that he regretted recent rhetoric in which he has sought to mollify the fears of the traditionalist wing of the church. The Archbishop is from the Church's liberal Catholic wing and a man who once espoused equal rights for gays within the Church. More recently he has adopted a conservative line for the sake of...

Salvation of the Soul 65. What precisely do you mean by the saving of one's soul? The meaning of that requires a brief analysis of man. Man consists of body and soul. The body is material and perishable; the soul is spiritual and imperishable. But the soul is the real you. It is the soul which knows and loves, is happy or miserable. Now as the soul is immortal, it enters at death into an eternal state, whether it be one of supreme happiness, or of direst misery. By "saving one's soul" I mean going from this world in the...

Featured Term (selected at random):HUMANAE PERSONAE DIGNITATEM Document published by the Vatican Secretariat for Unbelievers. Its purpose is to give general principles and particular norms for Catholics who engage in private or public dialogue with unbelievers, e.g., Communist Marxists. Among the specific norms the most practical one affects public dialogues, which may be either unofficial or official, as organized by ecclesiastical authorities. Regarding the latter, "it is only rarely that conditions exist in which such dialogue can take place between Christians and unbelievers." Unofficial discussions require, above all, that the Catholic representatives "be expert in doctrine, have moral integrity, and...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Vatican official has floated the idea of a shared "ecumenical catechism" as one of the potential fruits of 40 years of dialogue among Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and members of the Reformed churches. "We have affirmed our common foundation in Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity as expressed in our common creed and in the doctrine of the first ecumenical councils," Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told representatives of the churches. Opening a three-day symposium at the Vatican to brainstorm on the future of ecumenism, Cardinal Kasper said...

Losing her religion Anne Hathaway left the Catholic Church after her brother opened up about being gay. "The whole family converted to Episcopalianism after my elder brother came out," says the actress. "Why should I support an organization that has a limited view of my beloved brother?" So what religion is Anne now? "I'm nothing," she admits. "F- it, I'm forming. I'm a work in progress."

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February 9, 2010                                          Tuesday of the Fifth Week in                                   Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading I1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30Solomon stood before the altar of the LORDin the presence of the whole community of Israel,and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,he said, “LORD, God of Israel,there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;you keep your covenant of mercy with your servantswho are faithful to you with their whole heart. “Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?If the heavens and the highest heavens...

Ven. Louis of Granada 1504-1588With Imprimi Potest and Imprimatur TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC. Ch 9. The Ninth Motive for Practicing Virtue: The Thought of Heaven, the Third of the Four Last Things   A motive no less powerful than those we have enumerated is the thought of Heaven. This is the reward of virtue, and in it we must distinguish two things: the excellence and beauty of the abode promised us, which is no other than the empyreal heavens, and the perfection and beauty of the Sovereign King Who reigns there with His elect. But though no tongue can...

  IN THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS With submission and conformity to the will of God we should bear the evil consequences of which falling into sin is often the cause. It may be some indisposition or some more serious effect on our health brought about by over-indulgence; some sacrifice we have to make because of money spent foolishly for selfish ends; some bad turn in our affairs owing to impatient or imprudent conduct on our part; difficulty in resisting temptation and leading a good life because of a long habit of sin we have contracted -- the situation...

Catholic Biblical Apologetics Apologetics without apology! What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why? This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries. This is a set of lecture notes...

  BackgroundSaint Maroun, born in the middle of the 4th century was a priest who latter became a hermit, retiring to a mountain of Taurus near Antioch. His holiness and miracles attracted many followers, and drew attention throughout the empire. St John of Chrysostom sent him a letter around 405 AD expressing his great love and respect asking St Maroun to pray for him. The Maronite MovementSt Maroun is considered the Father of the spiritual and monastic movement now called the Maronite Church. This movement had a profound influence on Northern Syria and Lebanon. Saint Maroun spent all of...

Father Jeff Kirby of the Diocese of Charleston, S.C., reads by candlelight in this demonstration of use of a "priest hole," part of an exhibit on the Tudor era at the Venerable English College in Rome. The replica is an example of hiding places built into walls for priests to celebrate Mass and the sacraments in England during the Reformation. (CNS/Paul Haring) By Father Matthew GamberCatholic News Service ROME (CNS) -- When Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Great Britain later this year, he will be greeted by lords and ladies and dignitaries of all kind, including Queen Elizabeth II...

ROME, February 8, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Some members of the Pontifical Academy for Life are expressing fears for the future of the organization under its current head, Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella.  Their concerns come after a scandal last year in which the archbishop appeared to condone the abortion of Brazilian twins. LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) has been informed by the Academy that their annual congress, normally open to the public, has been cancelled this year in favor of a closed meeting of members. The PAV told LSN that the public will be welcomed back to the public congress next year, but this year’s...

Driving in my car the other day, I turned on the radio and came across one of the local Protestant stations. A preacher was expounding on John 3:5 where Jesus says, “Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” In his exegesis, he was absolutely sure that John did not mean physical water. Instead, he proposed that John’s water referred to the “word of God.” He cited Ephesians 5:26 and claimed that because Paul referred to “washing her with water by the word,” water was a symbol for Scripture. He transferred...

Eugene, Ore., Feb 7, 2010 / 07:42 pm (CNA).- Religious freedom advocates have asked the Oregon legislature for an immediate repeal of a decades-old law that bars Oregon teachers from wearing religious dress in public schools. The law, originally an anti-Catholic measure, was implemented with the support of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.Current Oregon law bars religious Jews from wearing yarmulkes, religious Sikhs from wearing turbans, and religious Muslim women from wearing a headscarf. According to the Oregonian, the law was designed to prevent priests and nuns from wearing their clerics and habits in the classroom. It was...

Church Approves French Marian Shrine Shepherdess' Visions of Our Lady Began in 1664 LAUS, France, MAY 15, 2008 (Zenit.org).- As pilgrims celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Marian shrine at Lourdes, the Church has officially recognized a new pilgrimage site in France. On May 4th, Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco of the Diocese of Gap, officially recognized the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Benoite Rencurel at the sanctuary of Laus in the area of Hautes-Alpes, France. The pronouncement was made during a Mass in the Basilica of Notre Dame in Laus. Among those present were the apostolic nuncio to France,...

Refuge of SinnersFrance--------------1666 ITUATED in Dauphiné, in southern France at the foot of the Alps, just southeast of Gap, is the vale of Laus. Its name means lake in the local dialect as there once was one at the bottom of the basin. In 1666 the hamlet held twenty households scattered in little huts. The inhabitants had built a chapel dedicated to the Annunciation, Notre-Dame de on Recontre [Our Lady of the Good Encounter, meaning Annunciation]. It was here that Our Lady chose to appear in another "Good Encounter", several times to to a humble, unschooled girl, Bl. Benoite...

Featured Term (selected at random):LAUS Shrine of Our Lady of the Blessed Valley. Scene of a series of apparitions to a poor French shepherdess, Benoite Rencure, in 1664. In the first apparition, St. Maurice directed the girl to a nearby valley where the Virgin appeared to her over a period of two months and bade her have a church built there in her honor. The edifice was built after numerous miracles of healing had been performed on the site. Three times the shrine has been pillaged but each time rebuilt. (Etym. Latin laus, praise.) All items in this dictionary are...

The Church of England is to go ahead with the plan to create women bishops without giving in to demands from traditionalists for a separate structure of bishops and archbishops untainted by the hands of a woman. Traditionalists oppose women bishops because they argue that Jesus had no women disciples and that the apostolic succession of bishops, passed down by the laying of hands at ordination, should therefore be male. Traditionalists warned last night that the decision, to be announced at the General Synod today, will trigger an exodus from the Church of England of many thousands of priests and...

Necessity of Religion 57. What can religion do for God? It enables us to render to Him the acknowledgment due to Him, and inspires us to obey His laws. We can thus respond in some way to His own great love for us. 58. He can need it very little. He does not need it at all. But He must needs demand that we do what it is right for us to do. We are unjust if we do not return love for love, and gratitude for gifts received. And not God's future well-being, but our future well-being, is inextricably...

THE SINNERS GUIDE Ven. Louis of Granada1504-1588With Imprimi Potest and Imprimatur TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC. Chapter 8. The Eighth Motive for Practicing Virtue: The Thought of the Last Judgment, the Second of the Four Last Things   Immediately after death follows the particular judgment, of which we have been treating. But there is a day of general judgment, when, in the words of the Apostle, "We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil." [2...

10.   IN THE LOSS OF SPIRITUAL CONSOLATION We ought to practice conformity to the will of God when we are deprived of those exterior aids to our spiritual well-being that He pleases to withdraw from us. For example a friend or counsellor on whom you rely for help and encouragement is taken away from you and you seem unable to get along without him. There is, in fact, some truth in what you feel, in that you really need the help of someone, and the friend or counsellor had been given to you for that very reason. But...

Josephine Bakhita - an African Saint - If I was to meet those slave raiders that abducted me and those who tortured me, I'd kneel down to them to kiss their hands, because, if it had not have been for them, I would not have become a Christian and religious woman.On 1 October 2000, the Catholic Church, and especially African Catholics, were enriched with another Saint. Josephine Bakhita, born in Darfur (Sudan) in 1869, died in Schio (Italy) 8 February 1947, was canonized by the Pope in the Vatican, calling her Our Universal Sister. This amazingly strong women made it...

February 8, 2010                                           Monday of the Fifth Week in                                     Ordinary Time       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading I1 Kgs 8:1-7, 9-13The elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes,the princes in the ancestral houses of the children of Israel,came to King Solomon in Jerusalem,to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenantfrom the City of David, which is Zion.All the people of Israel assembled before King Solomonduring the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh...

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, says those Anglicans who respond to Pope Benedict's invitation to join the Catholic Church under the provisions of the new Apostolic Constitution, would not be "proper Catholics". You can listen to the interview in full on this week's Sunday Sequence (Sunday, from 8.30am). In the same interview, Dr Sentamu also called for the banning of the British National Party and says he is "surprised that Parliament doesn't want to do it." He also says he has "every hope" that [Robert] Mugabe will be gone very soon." Here's part of the exchange I had...

Catholic Biblical Apologetics Apologetics without apology! What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why? This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries. This is a set of lecture notes...

The Priest and the Liturgy of the Word at Mass Continuity Seen Between the Two Forms of the Roman Rite By Father Mauro GagliardiROME, FEB. 5, 2010 (Zenit.org).- In this article we will not be looking at the Liturgy of the Word in itself, about which we would have to provide an historical, theological and disciplinary panorama. In continuity with the preceding articles in this column, we will focus instead on the role of the priest in the Liturgy of the Word in the Mass, taking into account both the ordinary form (that of Paul VI) and the extraordinary form...

One day he's dissing gay activists as immoral "buggers" and perhaps the "greatest threat" to the nation. Then, he's embracing anti-discrimination legislation and conceding the "right" gay residents have to job and housing protections. What swayed state Sen. Chris Buttars? His church. In November, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced its support of Salt Lake City's measures safeguarding gay and transgender residents from discrimination. Suddenly, Buttars, R-West Jordan, and his Mormon colleagues on the right who had vigorously -- and vociferously -- opposed such laws faced a choice: Should they back or buck their church? This same...

SEANCES, SPIRITS AND THE OCCULT A Catholic View. Fr. Peter J: Elliott ISBN 85826/172/3 A.C.T.S. No. 1718 (1979) THIS PAMPHLET DEALS WITH PRACTICAL MATTERS AND CLEARLY PRESENTS THE TEACHING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. IT COULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH PAMPHLET No. 1717 WHICH EXAMINES "REINCARNATION". - THE EDITOR. * * * SEANCES, SPIRITS AND THE OCCULT A Catholic View Walk through any bookshop, open the popular magazines, follow the programmes of television and radio and it soon becomes obvious that we are living in the midst of a revival of interest in "the occult". The word means "something...

Saturday, January 30, 2010 Los Angeles Getting a New Archbishop (Part 2) On Saturday Rocco Palmo announced on his blog that he has learned that the terma, the final three names submitted to Pope Benedict for the job of Shepherd of Los Angeles, includes both Hispanic and Anglo candidates. Palmo writes: "again, the demographics of the archdiocese are an immense consideration here, but so is the skill-set of a candidate given the Holy See's assessment of the place" ("Back Page" live discussion, posted at 10:27). In the last post, I looked at the Hispanic bishops most frequently named in...

THE SINNER'S GUIDE Ven. Louis of Granada1504-1588With Imprimi Potest and Imprimatur TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC. Ch 7. The Seventh Motive for Practicing Virtue: The Thought of Death, the First of the Four Last Things   Any one of the motives we have just enumerated should be sufficient to induce man to give himself wholly to the service of a Master to Whom he is bound by so many ties of gratitude. But as the generality of men are more influenced by personal interest than by motives of justice, we will here make known the inestimable advantages of virtue in...

Determinism Absurd 45. Leaving God out of it, I still do not believe in freewill. I believe in psychological determinism. There are no facts of psychology which justify the denial of freewill. 46. Medical men say that a man is, for good or evil, what his brain cells make him. Not all medical men say that. Those who do may know their physiology, but they betray lamentable ignorance of psychology and philosophy. Brain cells are still brain cells, whether they are living or dead. If they are dead, they cannot make a man anything. If they are living, they owe...

Legatus Honors President Bush, Cardinal George Newt Gingrich to Present New Film About John Paul II By Genevieve Pollock DANA POINT, California, FEB. 4, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Catholic business executives of Legatus are gathering today to honor former President George W. Bush and Cardinal Francis George, hear Newt Gingrich's conversion story and watch his new film. These are just some of the highlights of the Legatus annual summit in Dana Point, the group's executive director, John Hunt, explained to ZENIT. Legatus announced last month that the former U.S. president is attending the summit, which began today and will end Saturday, to...

February 7, 2010                                Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading IIs 6:1-2a, 3-8In the year King Uzziah died,I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,with the train of his garment filling the temple.Seraphim were stationed above. They cried one to the other,“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!All the earth is filled with his glory!”At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shookand the house was filled with smoke.Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!For I am a man...

In what I can only describe as being one of the most remarkable performances I have ever seen, two boys from the Catalunia Catholic Boy's choir sing the "Meow" song to classical music. You really must see this to believe it. I came away from watching this video with a new found respect for the talent these boys have been blessed with. The official name of the choir is called "La Escolania", and they are associated with one of the oldest monasterys in Europe, the monastery of Montserrat. This monastery is the destination of some of the largest pilgrimages in...

Catholic Biblical Apologetics Apologetics without apology! What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why? This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries. This is a set of lecture notes...

+ The 1859 Douay-Rheims Bible text added to the commentary pages: As of 6 February 2010, Old Testament: Bible text through chapter 32 of Numbers was added to commentary pages; New Testament: completed.

Some days on ABC’s The View, there is absolutely no conservative on the set, even Elisabeth Hasselbeck. On Thursday’s show, the whole panel, including guest host Meghan McCain, endorsed gays in the military. But the liberal unity was really obvious when atheist comedienne Sarah Silverman showed up to promote her Comedy Central show. She said marriage was "gross" and bigoted as long as gays couldn’t marry, ABC also re-aired and applauded – Hasselbeck applauded – Silverman’s Catholic-bashing video urging the Pope to sell the Vatican to feed the hungry. But they omitted the part where Silverman said this sale would...

Featured Term (selected at random):SECRET SOCIETY An organization whose members may not disclose the purposes, practices, or activities of their society to civil or ecclesiastical authorities. Because their secrecy often works to the disadvantage of nonmembers, through questionable control, and also to the detriment of the Catholic faith, the Church has for centuries forbidden Catholics to belong to secret societies and has often imposed severe canonical penalties on those who disobey. Under certain restricted conditions Catholics may retain a limited association with such organizations. Forbidden secret societies often sponsor benevolent and charitable enterprises, but they are prohibited mainly because their...

In what I can only describe as being one of the most remarkable performances I have ever seen, two boys from the Catalunia Catholic Boy's choir sing the "Meow" song to classical music. You really must see this to believe it. I came away from watching this video with a new found respect for the talent these boys have been blessed with. The official name of the choir is called "La Escolania", and they are associated with one of the oldest monasterys in Europe, the monastery of Montserrat. This monastery is the destination of some of the largest pilgrimages in...

Hot off the press! My post with resources on the Harry Knox scandal is here.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Shroud of Turin, which many Christians believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus, goes on public display this spring, at a time when experts are debating new claims about the 14-foot-long piece of linen. Pope Benedict XVI has already made plans to view the shroud during a one-day trip to the northern Italian city of Turin in early May. Many observers are wondering how the pope will refer to the cloth: as a sign, an icon or -- as Pope John Paul II once characterized it -- a relic. The shroud's last showing was...

February 6, 2010                               Memorial of Saint Paul Miki, martyr, and his                         companions, martyrs     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading I1 Kgs 3:4-13Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice there,because that was the most renowned high place.Upon its altar Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings.In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night.God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”Solomon answered:“You have shown great favor to your servant, my father David,because he behaved faithfully toward you,with justice and an upright heart;and you have continued...

Advice to Parents An 8.5 x 14 folded brochure, 5¢ each ADVICE TO PARENTS by Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Saint Alphonsus, founder of the Redemptorist Order, Bishop and Doctor of the Church expounds on the privilege and responsibilities of parenthood as a special vocation from God. The wisdom of this holy man has guided and fortified Catholics for over two hundred years. The gospel tells us, that a good plant cannot produce bad fruit, and that a bad one cannot produce good fruit. We learn from this, that a good father brings up good children. But, if the parents are...

Catholic Biblical Apologetics Apologetics without apology! What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why? This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries. This is a set of lecture notes...

Friday February 5, 2010 U.S. Sisters in Crisis after Embracing “Secular Culture”: Vatican Cardinal By Hilary WhiteROME, February 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Some religious orders in the U.S. and most western countries are in a state of “modern crisis” because the members of the order have embraced “secular culture” and abandoned traditional religious practices, the head of the Vatican’s office for religious life has said.But, said the cardinal, the religious life in the Catholic Church should be presenting an alternative to the “dominant culture,” “which is a culture of death, of violence and of abuse,” rather than mirroring it....

In what I can only describe as being one of the most remarkable performances I have ever seen, two boys from the Catalunia Catholic Boy's choir sing the "Meow" song to classical music. You really must see this to believe it. I came away from watching this video with a new found respect for the talent these boys have been blessed with. The official name of the choir is called "La Escolania", and they are associated with one of the oldest monasterys in Europe, the monastery of Montserrat. This monastery is the destination of some of the largest pilgrimages in...

Britain’s first iPhone baby is born after couple tried four years to conceive A woman who was considering IVF treatment has given birth to a baby girl after using an iPhone application to become pregnant. After four years of struggling to conceive, Lena Bryce and partner Dudley had nearly given up hope of having children, until she heard about the fertility app and downloaded it to her iPhone. The 30-year-old entered her body temperature daily and the app calculated when she would be most fertile. After just two months of using the tecnology she fell pregnant. Last Friday, a...

Featured Term (selected at random):PAPAL DECORATION An honor conferred by the Holy See on lay people who deserve special recognition for their service to the Church. A bishop recommends a person for the honor, which, if granted, is then conferred either in Rome or in the home diocese. Papal orders of knighthood (which may also be conferred on women) are mainly, in sequence of importance: 1. Supreme Order of Christ; 2. Order of Pius IX; 3. Order of St. Gregory the Great; 4. Order of St. Sylvester; 5. Order of the Golden Militia or Golden Spur; 6. Order of the...