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WASHINGTON — Due to coronavirus threats in the U.S., the U.S. apostolic nuncio and the permanent observer of the Holy See to the Organization of American States have canceled a celebration scheduled for March 13 to mark the seventh anniversary of the election of Pope Francis. The announcement was made March 9 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, who said the cancellation was a "prudent action" that was being taken "as a precaution in consideration of the information provided by national and local health officials." "There are no cases of the virus here at the nunciature,"...

Belley, France, Mar 4, 2020 / 04:37 pm (CNA).- People should be more concerned about the epidemic of fear than the coronavirus outbreak, Bishop Pascal Roland of Belley-Ars has said. “More than the epidemic of coronavirus, we should fear the epidemic of fear! For my part, I refuse to yield to the collective panic and to subject myself to the principle of precaution that seems to be moving the civil institutions,” Bishop Roland wrote in a column at his diocesan website. “So I don't intend to issue any specific instructions for my diocese. Are Christians going to stop gathering together...

Former President Bill Clinton has something to say about Monica Lewinsky, a staff shakeup at the White House and a publisher backs away from the memoir of film director Woody Allen but first.... Another crackdown on elites in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched by the country's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. High ranking members of the royal family under arrest reportedly for treason plotting a coup.... President Trump changing the White House Chief of Staff... From northwestern Syria the cease-fire agreed to by the Russian and Turkish presidents appears to be holding but.... In Portland, Oregon...

The poll of 1,512 Catholic registered voters was conducted between Jan. 28 - Feb. 4, 2020, and surveyed U.S. Catholic opinion on a range of subjects, including political affiliation, preferred presidential candidate, the morality of abortion, and religious practices.WASHINGTON, D.C. — While the Catholic Church teaches that procuring an abortion is always immoral, a majority of U.S. Catholics do not believe abortion is intrinsically evil and say it should be legal in all or most cases. According to a RealClear Opinion Research poll sponsored by EWTN and published on Monday, 47% of Catholics in the U.S. believe abortion is “intrinsically...

February 27 2020 Thursday after Ash Wednesday Reading 1 Dt 30:15-20 Moses said to the people: “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve...

February 24 2020 Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jas 3:13-18 Beloved: Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,...

February 22 2020 Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle Reading 1 1 Pt 5:1-4 Beloved: I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown...

[Catholic Caucus] Austrian diocese sues father of six for refusing to pay Church tax The father opposes the promotion of homosexuality and gender ideology, which he says is running rampant in his diocese. FELDKIRCH, Austria, February 21, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — The Austrian diocese of Feldkirch is taking a father of six to court for refusing to pay the Church tax. The father, who remains anonymous, argued that he could not pay the tax in good conscience because of the diocese’s involvement in the promotion of homosexuality and gender ideology. As reported by faithful Catholic news website kath.net, the father...

HARRISBURG — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, becoming the first diocese in the state to seek protection from financial claims in the aftermath of a 2018 grand jury report that revealed decades of sexual abuse and cover-up by the church’s top leaders. And, said a lawyer for the diocese, it’s not likely to be the last. Citing the fallout from that probe and recent court decisions that opened new avenues for some victims with time-barred claims to sue, attorney Matt Haverstick said Harrisburg, like each of the state’s eight other Catholic dioceses, faces the prospect...

Priest: Pope’s Amazon exhortation is ‘Trojan horse’ for female ministry, married priests February 14, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Amazonia is known for its sometimes fairy tale–like landscape, which is often shrouded in deep fog. What seems romantic at first glance tempts many to start dreaming. But the panorama has a big shadow side. That side is to be found everywhere where the cloudy haze blocks the full light. Missionaries report that deadly dangers are difficult to recognize in this scenery. So the fog often brings a deceptive situation. When it dissolves the whole reality of the Amazon becomes visible. The...

[Catholic Caucus] Francis’s Silence, Ratzinger's Tears, and That Never-Published Statement of His What is most striking in the post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Querida Amazonia,” made public today, February 12 2020, is its total silence on the most anticipated and controversial issue: the ordination of married men.Not even the word “celibacy” appears in it. Pope Francis desires “to configure ministry in such a way that it is at the service of a more frequent celebration of the Eucharist, even in the remotest and most isolated communities” (no. 86). But he reiterates (no. 88) that only the ordained priest can celebrate the Eucharist,...

Pope Francis has called tax cuts for the wealthy a 'structure of sin' before telling a conference at the Vatican the 'rich world can and must end poverty'. At a seminar on economic inclusion hosted by the Church on Wednesday, Francis insisted that poverty could be beaten if the world's rich play a full part in ending inequality. 'Today’s structures of sin include repeated tax cuts for the richest people, often justified in the name of investment and development,' Francis told the meeting organized by the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences. 'We are neither condemned to inequality nor to paralysis...

February 9, 2020 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 IS 58:7-10 Thus says the LORD: Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! If...

February 8, 2020 Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 3:4-13 Solomon 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 this great favor toward him,...

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Msgr. Charles Pope Did You Help the Saints of Old to Become Holy? There is a remarkable statement at the end of the eleventh chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews. It speaks to the unity of the mystical Body of Christ and to the treasury of merit, which extends both backward and forward in time. Hebrews 11 is devoted to reciting the glory of many Old Testament saints. That litany concludes with the following verses:These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. Since God had...

Two German bishops advocate for change in Church teaching on homosexuality The archbishop of Hamburg said the Church doesn’t meet homosexuals on equal footing and criticized the Catechism’s call for homosexuals to live chaste lives. FRANKFURT, Germany, February 5, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Two German bishops have called the Church to change its teaching on homosexuality and recognize the “values” like fidelity that are allegedly lived in homosexual relationships. Archbishop Stefan Heße and Bishop Georg Bätzing made their remarks at the first assembly of the synodal path in Germany, which concluded on Saturday, February 1, 2020. Heße, the archbishop of...

February 5, 2020 Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr Reading 1 2 Sm 24:2, 9-17 King David said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him, “Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the people, that I may know their number.” Joab then reported to the king the number of people registered: in Israel, eight hundred thousand men fit for military service; in Judah, five hundred thousand.Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people, and said to the LORD: “I have sinned grievously in what I have done. But...

February 4, 2020 Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Sm 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30–19:3 Absalom unexpectedly came up against David’s servants. He was mounted on a mule, and, as the mule passed under the branches of a large terebinth, his hair caught fast in the tree. He hung between heaven and earth while the mule he had been riding ran off. Someone saw this and reported to Joab that he had seen Absalom hanging from a terebinth. And taking three pikes in hand, he thrust for the heart of Absalom, still hanging from the...

WINDSOR TERRACE — The Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y., faces near certain bankruptcy after it posted a $5 million loss in 2019, in large part because of the financial impact of the sexual abuse crisis that has plagued the diocese for almost two years. The diocese’s assets fell by $21.7 million, according to the diocese’s annual financial report released Jan. 30. “In response to the magnitude of the number of claims, and alleged damages, the CAO (Central Administrative Offices of the Diocese of Buffalo) has determined that a filing of a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Federal...

[Catholic Caucus] US archbishop: Pope told us gay civil unions can be ‘acceptable’ The Pope told U.S. bishops that civil unions for homosexual couples that give them access to public benefits are 'acceptable.' VATICAN CITY, February 3, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — A U.S. archbishop says Pope Francis told a group of American bishops in Rome that civil unions for homosexual couples that give them access to public benefits are “acceptable,” as long as it’s clear such arrangements can never be considered marriage. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco told LifeSiteNews that during their January 27 ad limina visit, the pope said,...