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Clark County violated Nevada and federal law by prematurely deleting communication records related to its voter registration lists, an audit published on Thursday claims. In a litigation notice sent to Clark County Registrar Lorena Portillo on Tuesday, Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) asserted that Nevada’s most populous county violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and several state laws by deleting most of its election-related communications after six months. The NVRA requires states to “maintain for at least 2 years” and “make available for public inspection … all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for...

COMMENTARY The most conspicuous is the change of the name from the “Rite of Marriage” to the “Order of Celebrating Matrimony.” This new name is more in accord with the Latin original, but it also adds something to the title that is not found in the simple word “marriage.” Not only does “matrimony” convey greater solemnity than “marriage,” but the Latin matrimonium also means “the state of being a mother.” This new title, therefore, provides us with a significant opportunity for a much-needed catechesis on the very nature of holy matrimony. In the face of a secular culture that values...

Demonstrating the role of Anglican Ordinariates in the new evangelization, baptized Catholics can now join the groups set up for Anglican converts, according to a change in rules made by Pope Francis. Those who were baptized Catholic but have not received Confirmation and First Communion are now allowed to join the ordinariates. Previously, baptized Catholics were not eligible to join the groups unless they had family who were ex-Anglicans. “This confirms the place of the Personal Ordinariates within the mission of the wider Catholic Church, not simply as a jurisdiction for those from the Anglican tradition, but as a contributor...

Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond. Washington D.C., Mar 27, 2012 / 06:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. bishops are encouraging parishes to incorporate into their communities a new blessing for a child in the womb, which the Vatican approved on March 25. “I'm impressed with the beauty of this blessing for human life in the womb,” said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. “I can think of no better day to announce this news than on the feast of the Annunciation, when we remember Mary’s ‘yes’ to God and the incarnation of...

‘Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb’ approved by RomeWASHINGTON (March 26, 2012) -- The Vatican has approved the publication of the "Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb," which will be printed in English and Spanish in a combined booklet and should be available for parishes by Mothers' Day. The U.S. bishops who collaborated on the development of the blessing welcomed the announcement of the recognitio, or approval, by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome. "I'm impressed with the beauty of this blessing for human life...

Some things about the Eucharistic worship of the Ordinariates are already clear. Since Ordinariate clergy will be part of the Roman Rite, they will be able lawfully to use the Ordinary Form in a translation which will have received the recognitio of the Holy See – and I am of course thinking of the new ICEL translation of the Roman Rite. Doubtless many will use this rite, since (particularly in England) very many Anglican Catholic clergy have in the past used the OF. Those who adhered to more ‘Anglican’ forms – the Alternative Service Book or Common Worship – commonly...

Anchorage, Nov 23, 2008 / 02:56 pm (CNA).- Beginning December 6, ethereal chant, incense and perhaps even an ostrich-feathered liturgical fan will waft through Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage, Alaska as the archdiocese prepares for the ancient Dominican rite Mass that will be celebrated in Latin every first Saturday of the month at noon. The Catholic Anchor reports that the successful emergence of the Dominican rite locally is keeping the tradition alive, and perhaps fueling organic development of the liturgy into the future. By early 2009, the Anchorage Archdiocese is also hoping to provide regular celebrations of the Tridentine Latin...

First Latin Rite ordinations in over forty years in the Diocese of Linz. The two ordinands are from the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter. In the Diocesan yearbook, they only have two other ordinations this year - but not to forget the notorious Golatz. Conveniently, he has been forgotten or perhaps he was ordained too late for publication. No less than fifteen priests died this year in the Diocese.

A parish priest has refused to give an Italian woman a Christian funeral because she had “lived in sin”. Father Giuseppe Mazzotta, parish priest at Marcellinara, near Catanzaro in Calabria, said that he had denied a Christian funeral to Maria Francesca Tallarico, who died of breast cancer at the age of 45, because she had lived with her partner but never married him. Her partner was separated and had an 11-year-old daughter. “She lived with her lover, so she was a public sinner,” Father Mazzotta said. “I decided not to celebrate an official Mass for this woman, who was not...

Vatican liturgical official seeks recovery of the sacred Vatican, Jun. 23 (CWNews.com) - The secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship has conceded some "negative results" of liturgical changes since Vatican II, and voiced his support for reform of the post-conciliar liturgy, in an interview with the I Media news agency. Archbishop Albert Malcom Ranjith Patabendige Don told I Media that the Council fathers had hoped to reinvigorate the sense of an active encounter with God through the liturgy. "But unfortunately," he said, "after the Council, certain changes were made rapidly, without reflection, in a burst of enthusiasm, in a...

Fr. Tucker over at Dappled Things points to two interesting little liturgical tidbits: Photos and Descriptions of the Ambrosian Liturgy -- The Ambrosian Rite is the proper liturgical usage of the Archdiocese of Milan. Our friends at the Cattolici Romani web forum have an excellent, excellent discussion of the particulars of that rite, as well as copious photos sure to please many of our readers. The text is in Italian. Announcing: Anglican Use Conference on 5 June in Scranton -- If you're interested in the interesting pastoral provision that has opened the door for Episcopal clergy and laity to...

On this, his 79th birthday, Joseph Ratzinger marked his first Easter as Pope. At morning Mass in St Peter's Square, Benedict XVI returned to the ancient rite of the Resurrexit, used by Popes since the 1100s but only recently (and sporadically) restored; the ritual reinforces Peter's role as witness of the resurrection. Above, the Pope is shown kissing the Acheiropita icon which is brought to St Peter's Square specifically for the Resurrexit, which takes place at the beginning of the liturgy of Easter during the day. Here is the Holy See's English translation of Benedict's Urbi et Orbi message,...

Recruit Daniel Murphy, who in college was a 325-pound offensive lineman protecting quarterbacks and opening holes for running backs, lost 100 pounds to join the U.S. Marines, the military's swift-moving, expeditionary shock troops.

For those who have been there, Hell Week is a sleepless, bitter cold, gritty, soaking wet, hell on earth where exhausted candidates – pumped full of antibiotics to ward off a variety of infections – survive on sheer heart, tenacity, seemingly incomprehensible physical courage, and about 5,000-7,000 calories per day (given they can muster enough strength to consume them). Hell Week is a short span of eternity at Coronado, California where the SEAL hopeful comes to a reckoning of the soul. Here, he “realizes,” according to Commander Richard Marcinko (USN, ret.), “the body is only tissue and the mind/brain can...

Click on the link above the watch and hear the Prayers by the Eastern Churches at the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Why do priests use incense at Mass? — A reader in AlexandriaIncense is an aromatic substance which is the resin from certain trees. When burned over charcoal, the incense produces a sweet smelling aroma. To make the smoke thicker and to enhance the fragrance, sometimes other perfumes are blended with the incense.The use of incense in the ancient world was common, especially in religious rites where it was used to keep demons away. Herodotus, the Greek historian, recorded that it was popular among the Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians. In Judaism, incense was included in the thanksgiving offerings of oil, grain,...

This year on the feast of the Assumption (Sunday, August 15, 2004, 4:00 PM), the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden, New Jersey will be the site of a Solemn High Mass celebrated in the Traditional Roman Rite. This Mass is an annual event and is quite simply, the most beautiful Mass I have ever attended. The Mass is sponsored by Mater Ecclesiae Roman Catholic Church, a parish of the diocese of Camden located in Berlin, New Jersey. Mater Ecclesiae is an indult parish which celebrates the Tridentine Mass. If you are able, I encourage you to...

The Christian Church was born in the Holy Land, what we call the Middle East today. As it spread, the Church took on the ways of the nations which accepted it. In this country, most Christian churches are 'western' because their roots are in western Europe, and their ways reflect the culture of the German, Irish or Italian immigrants who founded them. Some American churches, were started by people from Eastern Europe or the Middle East. They still keep the ways of the Holy Land (Jerusalem, where Christ founded His Church; Antioch, where the name Christian was first used; Damascus,...

The thirteenth and latest encyclical of John Paul II, Ecclesia de eucharistia, signed on April 17, 2003, was consecrated to a doctrinal deepening of the Mystery of the Eucharist. The Vatican’s avowed ambition was to reconcile the traditional doctrine of the Mass with the great “achievements” of Vatican II, on the common priesthood of the faithful, on ecumenism and the new vision of the Church which this implies. Commentators of all opinions recognized, in this double objective, an abiding contradiction, which compromises the legibility of the new doctrine and straight away severely limits its pastoral effectiveness. The instruction Redemptionis sacramentum,...

First, Manhood, then and only then, Fatherhood To be dads, boys must learn to be menTHE WASHINGTON TIMES<!- NO INDENT ->"Manhood development" expert Ademola Ekulona says there is a "fatherhood crisis" because there is a "manhood crisis." Mr. Ekulona, a former social worker and journalist who has a degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, now reaches inner-city boys through his Baltimore company, Adisa Future Positive Systems. Mr. Ekulona recently talked with Washington Times reporter Cheryl Wetzstein about his work with young males.TWT: What is manhood development?It is the process of escorting or guiding a boy from...