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VATICAN CITY — The 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis is news again now that four cardinals have denied a new book’s claim that they campaigned for Pope Francis to be elected — though the book’s author has clarified the Pope himself was not a part of their supposed campaign. The London-based Catholic journalist Austen Ivereigh, in his new book The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope, contends that a group of cardinals on what he bills as “Team Bergoglio” worked during the last conclave to promote the election of Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of...

As readers of The Remnant may recall, while in Rome last summer I wrote an article which focused on the traditions and history of the Swiss Guard, and centered around the "giuramento," or swearing in, ceremony of the new Guardsmen. Few, if any, who have come in contact with the Guardsmen are not impressed with their courtesy, their military discipline, and their devotion to the Church. Along with these very distinctive young men, I had the good fortune of attending a press conference in which the Commander of the Swiss Guard, Colonel Daniel Anrig, impressed the gaggle of reporters by...

The Obama administration is refusing to discuss reports that emerged early Thursday claiming that the White House is considering imposing sanctions on Israel for continuing construction on Jewish homes in Jerusalem. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf dodged several questions on Thursday when confronted with reports that the administration had held secret internal meetings to discuss taking action against Israel for its ongoing building in East Jerusalem. The classified meetings were reportedly held several weeks ago and included officials from both the State Department and White House, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, which first reported on the meetings. The possibility...

In a unanimous vote earlier this week, the D.C. Council passed legislation repealing “the exemption allowing religiously-affiliated educational institutions to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.” The repealed exemption (2-1402.41) read: (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of the laws of the District of Columbia, it shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice in the District of Columbia for any educational institution that is affiliated with a religious organization or closely associated with the tenets of a religious organization to deny, restrict, abridge, or condition — (A) the use of any fund, service, facility, or benefit; or (B) the granting...

Pewaukee — Catholic education, in the family and in schools, is essential to the transformation of culture and a bulwark against today's increasingly secular society, Wisconsin native Cardinal Raymond Burke told hundreds of Catholics who gathered Thursday for a fundraising dinner in Waukesha County. And he called on Catholics to embark on a "new evangelization" that stressed the common good. "Without the recognition of the common good ... society breaks down and is soon beset by the violence and destruction," said Burke, who drew repeated standing ovations from the crowd of nearly 300. | Dec. 4, 2014 »Read

In these USA Monday, 8 December, is a Holy Day of Obligation because Our Lady under the title of Immaculate Conception is the Patroness of our nation.So, several readers have asked about fulfilling the Mass obligation.  Here’s is one: If I have already fulfilled my Sunday mass obligation for December 7, if I go to mass again on the evening of December 7, will that fulfill my obligation for December 8th even if it is not the “official” anticipated mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception? Ah… my old nemesis!I posted on this scenario in the past and...

In a new video, megachurch leader and author Rick Warren is calling for Christians to unite with Roman Catholics and “Pope Francis,” who Warren recently referred to as the “Holy Father”—a move that is raising concerns among Christians nationwide and is resulting in calls for Warren to repent. Warren made the comments following his visit to the Vatican last month, where he spoke at an interfaith conference on the “Complementarity of Man and Woman.”...

The former accountant for the Agape Family Worship Center has been indicted for embezzling more than $4 million from the church over a period of seven years, church officials said today. The thefts were hidden in 900 separate transactions in which Gridiron would write checks to himself or arrange wire transfers, said Matthew Davis, a Texas-based attorney representing the church. "As a church, we are trusting people," he said. "We hired a professional, certified public accountant who served us for many years and there was no reason for us to question his integrity in the past.

Traditional marriage and family arrangements are changing. (I am talking here primarily about Western societies where Christianity and Judaism have been strongly influential—mostly European-based societies and those affected by them via colonialism and/or missionary endeavors.) For centuries monogamous, heterosexual, lifelong marriage has been the norm with other arrangements, including marriage between close relatives, forbidden. Divorce and remarriage gradually became acceptable. Even many fundamentalist Christians and orthodox Jews have accommodated to it. Now, of course, even some evangelical Christian theologians are joining the movement for full marriage rights for people of the same sex. It appears to be inevitable that most...

Vatican City, Dec 4, 2014 / 07:07 pm (CNA).- The 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis is news again now that four cardinals have denied a new book’s claim that they campaigned for Pope Francis to be elected – though the book’s author has clarified the Pope himself was not a part of their supposed campaign. The London-based Catholic journalist Austen Ivereigh, in his new book “The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope,” contends that a group of cardinals on what he bills as “Team Bergoglio” worked during the last conclave to promote the election...

A biographical film on the life of Saint Padre Pio is in the works. The film will be produced by the American Actor Joe Mantegna and his long time producing Partner Danny Ramm through their company Acquaviva Productions, for theatrical release. Shot in English, filmed on location in Italy, and distributed worldwide, the film will highlight Padre Pio’s impact on the Catholic Church and the building of his hospital, Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza in San Giovanni Rotondo, Puglia, Italy. Schedule permitting, Joe Mantegna will star in the title role. A percentage of the proceeds from the film will benefit the...

An openly lesbian federal judge whose appointment was opposed by dozens of U.S. senators has ruled against a Christian former Navy chaplain who alleged his superiors engineered his dismissal from the service because he was not “ecumenical.” The decision by Elaine Kaplan of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims rejected the allegations of former chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt, who recently was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives. He had routinely prayed “in Jesus name” as part of his work as a chaplain. The judge, who formerly worked for the National Treasury Employees Union, was opposed by 35 GOP senators when...

For the past three months, parishioners and friends of the Church of Our Saviour on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan have been wondering what happened to the fourteen icons that were removed from two pilasters in the sanctuary on the evening of August 22. They have also been wondering why the artwork was removed in the first place. It was integral to the church’s wall-to-wall iconography, which had been commissioned by the previous pastor and funded in part by the Vatican. Other icons in the sanctuary remain. Those that are now missing were integral to the “sacred geometry of the...

Pope Francis equated Christianity with Islam while leaving Turkey. “We have our share of fundamentalists” too. The pope also said fighting poverty and hunger were key to defeating Islamist killers. Ugh. The Jerusalem Post reported: Pope Francis said Sunday that equating Islam with violence was wrong and called on Muslim leaders to issue a global condemnation of terrorism to help dispel the stereotype. Francis, the leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, told reporters aboard his plane returning from a visit to Turkey that he understood why Muslims were offended by many in the West who automatically equated their religion with...

William and George both appear in the top twenty of most popular boys names in the UK in 2014 (PA) European-wide Christian names were a product of ChristendomsIt seems to be a solid British tradition now: the annual debate about whether Mohammed is now the most popular boy’s name in Britain, or whether it’s Oliver.The issue comes down to whether one counts all spelling variations as one name, in which case Mohammed/Mohammad/Muhammed etc would be number one; or, as others argue, Oliver and Ollie would therefore be added together to take first place.The difference, however, is that Mohammed/Mohammad are variations...

Vicar of Baghdad: Four Iraqi Christian Kids Beheaded After Refusing to Convert to Islam, Telling ISIS Militants 'No, We Love Jesus' Four Iraqi Christian children, who were all beheaded by the Islamic State, refused to betray Jesus and graciously died in his name when the ISIS militants gave them one last chance to say the Islamic words of conversion, the Rev. Canon Andrew White revealed in a recent interview. In an interview last week with the Christian Broadcast Network published on the Orthodox Christian Network, White, who is the only Anglican vicar in Iraq and is know as "The Vicar...

"You just can't say that, just as you can't say that all Christians are fundamentalists. We have our share of them (fundamentalists). All religions have these little groups," Pope Francis said. *** Pope Francis said on Sunday that equating Islam with violence was wrong and called on Muslim leaders to issue a global condemnation of terrorism to help dispel the stereotype...

In the interview Pope Francis gave on the return flight to Rome, he spoke about interreligious dialogue, asking political leaders, scholars and Muslim religious figures to speak out against fundamentalist terrorism. Regarding unity between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, he said that “uniatism” is not the way forward. “I want to go to Iraq“ and “I would like to meet the Patriarch of Moscow”

(Google Translate)(Full Speech below) Vatican City (kath.net/KAP/red) Francis Pope has spoken out against a common celebration of the Eucharist by Catholics and Protestants. "If we have to hide our Eucharistic faith under the pretext of a certain accommodation by, then we take our own treasure neither nor our interlocutor seriously enough," he said on Monday in front of the Swiss bishops at the Vatican. In ecumenical dialogue, the bishops should make sure that the believers of all faiths could live their faith "unambiguous and free of confusion" and "without the differences at the expense of truth wegzuretuschieren". At the same...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ankara and Istanbul were gray and cold, at least compared to Rome, during Pope Francis' Nov. 28-30 visit to Turkey. And the general reception, outside of the pope's official meetings, was hardly warmer. There were none of the enthusiastic crowds that usually greet him on his trips, no masses waving signs of welcome along his motorcade route or behind police barriers at the stops. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople kisses Pope Francis as they embrace during an ecumenical prayer service in the patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul Nov. 29. (CNS/Paul Haring) Pope Francis, who...