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Category Archives: Church News
Las Vegas, Moving On Up
First it was hockey. Then the NFL. Now Pope Francis has elevated the city and its see to the status of archdiocese. Ordinaries of such a church will gain the privilege of wearing a pallium, like one of those on … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Church News
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Instituted
Rita Ferrone, a scholar and liturgist I admire, penned this piece for PrayTell. She makes a case, a good one I think, for bishops to get going and institute people into the ministries of lector, acolyte, and catechist. She begins … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, Liturgy
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Optional Celibacy
CNS picked up and translated a piece from Bolivia, delaing with the most currently newsworthy scandal there, a Jesuit priest who had abused at least eighty-nine boys and worse, of course: it was covered up. (Bishop Eugenio) Cóter gave an … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, sex abuse
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Votes
A Wyoming quarter appeared in my change Monday. The little bit of copper-nickel proclaiming the Equality State got spent quick. And now, the Holy Father goes Wyoming for October’s synod. Women voting, not cowboy theology, though undoubtedly the anti-Francis crew … Continue reading
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The Latest on FP
The piling on of Frank Pavone continues: sexual misconduct added to blasphemy and disobedience, and one of the best summations I’ve read: Thus Pavone was a priest meant for the age of Trump. He became a Republican political hack who … Continue reading
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Cardinal Pell Moves Forward
Another well-known church figure has died and moves into eternal glory. Cardinal Pell has been the subject of a few bits on this site, mostly in the early to mid-2010s. He was part of a group of bishops that tinkered … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Church News
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American Magi, Vatican Babies
While American Catholics were doing Magi and hearts throbbing, Pope Francis was ahead of our game, baptizing infants in the Sistine Chapel. How long has that tradition been in place now? Dear parents, thank you for bringing your children here … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Church News
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It Was a Temporary Thing, After All
My wife showed me the news piece last night of Frank Pavone being dismissed from Holy Orders. The reasons? Blasphemy and disobedience. (Which of the two is more serious, do you think?) I hadn’t remembered he had turned up so … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Church News, Politics
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Ecclesiastical Maps
Move and merge. A bit to the south of me, I heard Bishop Robert Barron has scored a huge anonymous donation to acquire land and build a new pastoral center nearer the center of his Winona-Rochester diocese. Seems to me … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Church News
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Not Lobbies
DDWDS head Arthur Roche’s red hat day comment: But you know, you touch this area, and everyone starts screaming. That should tell us something straight away. What is this, that’s almost becoming hysterical? Because the Church has decreed at its … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, Liturgy
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The Innocents of War
I see Pope Francis taking a bit of heat for referring to Darya Dugina, a Russian nationalist and vocal supporter of war, as an innocent. What is the distinction between a soldier who pulls a trigger, and a citizen who … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, Peace, Politics
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The Role of Women and the Tide
I saw a few posts in social media this week on the various local iterations of the universal synod. The topic was and is the role of women. Another lay person, a non-woman, wrote this: I will climb on this … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, Ministry, Politics, synodality
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Revival
The three-year USCCB Eucharistic Revival began yesterday, or a bit earlier maybe. There’s a website already up. I noticed Notre Dame theologian Tim O’Malley suggesting catechesis alone isn’t going to cut it. His meme is a “Eucharistic culture.” The bishops … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Church News, Commentary
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New Neighbor
My wife, not Liam, not the whisperer, broke the news to me this morning. One of my favorite authors will be my new neighbor in Minnesota. Bishop Barron can strike the “auxiliary” from his office; he’s to be in charge … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Church News
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Catholic Sensibility 
Frank Pavone Responds
Poking around a bit after the sensational news of Frank Pavone being laicized, I found this open letter. I’m not enough of a celebrity-hanger-on or a critic or a church insider to know the full story. But I did find … Continue reading →