FAITH AT HOME Remember when we said we’d never take the Eucharist for granted again? When we had to watch Mass online or from cars in the church parking lot? When every part of parish life — from faith formation classes to Bible studies to doughnuts on Sundays — changed overnight? Three years ago, the […]
Question Corner: Jesus became man so I could become God? Do people talk too loudly before Mass?
QUESTION CORNER By Jenna Marie Cooper Q: I’m reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church and have a question about CCC 460. Can you please fully explain the lines: “For the son of God became man so that we might become God” and “… might make men gods.” I am to become GOD? That […]
U.S. military archbishop slams Walter Reed decision to cancel Catholic pastoral contract ahead of Holy Week
‘Incomprehensible’ By Gina Christian OSV News Hours before Holy Week began, a U.S. major military medical center ended a long-standing contract to provide Catholic pastoral care to veterans and service members, violating their religious freedom, according to Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for Military Services. On March 31, Walter Reed National […]
Confession: a great opportunity to get right with God
By Russell Shaw OSV News When Dr. Bernard Nathanson died of cancer in February 2011, the obituary writers dutifully recorded that he’d become a Catholic back in 1996. Some even recalled the reason he gave for taking that step. In the 1960s and 1970s, Nathanson, a New York OB-GYN, had been a national leader in […]
Medically ‘changing’ sex not morally justified, say bishops
By Julie Asher OSV News WASHINGTON — Surgical, chemical or other interventions that aim “to exchange” a person’s “sex characteristics” for those of the opposite sex “are not morally justified,” said the U.S. bishops’ doctrine committee in a statement released March 20. “What is of great concern, is the range of technological interventions advocated […]
Human composting, alkaline hydrolysis not acceptable for burial, say U.S. bishops
By Gina Christian OSV News Two new alternatives to burial and cremation fail to comply with the Catholic Church’s teaching on respect for the bodies of the dead, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine said. In a March 23 statement, the committee said it had evaluated human composting and alkaline hydrolysis, […]
Effie Caldarola: The mental health crisis
FEELING IT It was hard to find joy in the day. Rain pelted the morning windows incessantly. I burrowed under the covers and, grasping for gratitude, told myself it was good we were getting needed moisture. After the rain came unremitting gloom, strong winds and falling temperatures. When baking cinnamon rolls brought no respite […]
Jenna Marie Cooper: Do we relax Lenten fasts on Sunday?
QUESTION CORNER Q: I understand that the 40 days of Lent do not include Sundays, because every Sunday is a “little Easter” when we remember and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. I hear people say it is “cheating” if one doesn’t abstain on Sundays from whatever one “gives up” during Lent, but I wonder why one would […]
Both praise, protest for Pope Francis’ LGBTQ outreach
By Gina Christian OSV News Pope Francis has evoked both praise and protest for his outreach to LGBTQ persons during his decade-long papacy, as he has offered warmth and welcome while upholding the Catholic Church’s teaching on human sexuality. “My experience of Pope Francis has been hope-filled and also frustrating,” Ish Ruiz, a gay theologian […]
Bishop, cardinal spar in media over Eucharist, ‘heresy’
By Gina Christian OSV News Two U.S. prelates have recently traded what one called some “strong words” in the media, debating the reception of holy Communion, sexual sin, pastoral outreach to marginalized Catholics and allegations of heresy among church leadership. At issue is the tension between offering pastoral welcome and inclusion without compromising church doctrine, […]
