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Today the Archdiocese of Newark released To Whom Shall We Go?, a new pastoral by Archbishop John J. Myers reflecting on the spiritual nature of the human person and the role of God’s grace in guiding us to live in today’s world according to His plan.From the Scriptural accounts of Jesus preaching to the disciples at Capernaum (John 6) and St. Paul preaching to the people of Athens (Acts 17), to reactions of everyday people following the sudden and massive experience of terror in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, to the exhortation of St. John...

August 21, 2016 Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Is 66:18-21 Thus says the LORD:I know their works and their thoughts,and I come to gather nations of every language;they shall come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them;from them I will send fugitives to the nations:to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan,to the distant coastlandsthat have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory;and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nationsas an offering to the LORD,on horses and...

Since the beginning of this year, I have been sharing with you the growing concerns of Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong as regards the Vatican’s increasingly conciliatory stance with the Chinese government, which controls the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, an ersatz replacement for the true Chinese Catholic Church, which has been forced underground, and is regularly persecuted. In January, Cardinal Zen warned about a new “formula” allegedly under discussion at the time for the appointment of new Chinese bishops: A recent article “A winter of darkness for religions in China” by Bernardo Cervellera on AsiaNews, says: “From information that has...

Catholic Priests rail against Archbishop Charles Brown over selection of bishops A group which claims to represent almost a third of Ireland’s Catholic priests has severely criticised papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown over his selection of bishops. It just stopped short of asking for him to be replaced. The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) said it was “reluctant to call for Archbishop Brown’s removal” but felt it “instructive that his appointment was a central part of Rome’s response to the problems of the Irish Church”. Archbishop Brown’s appointment by Pope Benedict in November 2011 followed the publication of four reports...

PARAMUS, New Jersey --A woman is suing a Roman Catholic school in New Jersey, alleging the school violated the state's discrimination law when she was fired because she's married to a woman. Kate Drumgoole and her wife say, they never asked for this, but on Friday, they found themselves in court defending their right to move forward with the case. It is emotional, and one of dozens that has emerged after the legalization of same-sex marriage. "We did nothing but fall in love with each other and exercise our rights," she said. And yet, she lost her job at Paramus...

I confess I laughed when I read the interview. Let's face it. To whom do you think Cardinal Wuerl speaks? Do you think he's spending a lot of time outside his chancery speaking to the ordinary people of the diocese or is his contact with them from the window of his lavish apartment on embassy row?

NEWTOWN’S Catholic Church has become one of the world’s first churches to apologise to LGBTI people for the hurt caused by the action and inaction of Catholic and Christian people and churches. In June, Pope Francis called for an apology to gay and lesbian people and St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Newtown become one of the first to respond holding a Liturgy of Apology organised by the Rainbow Catholic Interagency for Ministry on Friday. “It was difficult to choose which personal stories to share during the liturgy; each individual’s story is so powerful, unique and precious,” Francis Voon, a Catholic...

Judging non-Catholics Seeing into the hearts of those outside the Church, the Lord will judge them by their knowledge, deeds Msgr. Charles Pope Catholic, August 28, 2016 8/17/2016 Question: How will God judge non-Catholics at the time of their death? — William Bandle, Manchester, Missouri Answer: Scripture says, “God does not see as a mortal ... The Lord looks into the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). Thus, God, who knows our hearts, will judge us based on what is there. Not all have had the same opportunity to come to know the Lord, his Church and the help of the sacraments....

DAY 6 – MOTHER MOST PURE, PRAY THAT WE RECEIVE THE GIFT OF JUSTICE! GOD’S WORD “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came...

Metro Vancouver Christians are colliding over the coming crusade of televangelist Franklin Graham, who is known for criticizing homosexuals, Muslims and U.S. President Barack Obama. Saying that Graham is often “incendiary and intolerant,” some evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics are opposing his participation in the three-day Festival of Hope event at Rogers Arena in early March, 2017, that many of the city’s mega-churches are supporting . “Rev. Graham is a polarizing figure … His ungracious and bigoted remarks have the potential to generate serious negative impact on the Christian witness in Vancouver,” says a statement from five prominent evangelical and...

August 20, 2016 Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Ez 43:1-7ab The angel led me to the gate which faces the east,and there I saw the glory of the God of Israelcoming from the east.I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters,and the earth shone with his glory.The vision was like that which I had seenwhen he came to destroy the city,and like that which I had seen by the river Chebar.I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the templeby way of the gate which faces the east,but...

Bishop Paul Hinder has been vicar of the United Arab Emirates, and the Sultanate of Oman and Yemen since 2004In a book published in German, Bishop Paul Hinder, the apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia, based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, recounts his long experience with Islam. "Paul Hinder, als Bischof in Arabien" or "Paul Hinder as Bishop of Arabia" is the title of a memoir written by Bishop Hinder, apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia (AVOSA) for the past twelve years. The book published by the German firm Herder Verlag in Freiburg im Breisgau is dedicated to the...

Vatican City, Aug 19, 2016 / 06:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The annual meeting of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's former students will discuss Europe's spiritual crisis during their gathering later this month, according to the group's organizer. The Ratzinger Schuelerkreis has gathered to discuss topics in theology and the life of the Church since 1978, shortly after their mentor was pulled from academia to become a bishop. The theme of spiritual crisis in Europe was approved by Benedict himself, Fr. Stephan Horn told CNA. Fr. Horn, a Salvatorian, was Joseph Ratzinger's academic assistant at the University of Regensburg from 1971 to...

Edit: in an official statement today at the National Catholic Register, professional Catholic, Mark Shea has been let go from his position because while his contributions to their paper met editorial expectations, his online presence elsewhere was not charitable. How about heretical? It's still a good move and we applaud the Register for finally seeing the light after many long years. Apparently, attacking John Zmirak, and slandering him was a bridge too far. https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/mark-shea-would-lie-to-attack-pro-lifers-but-not-to-save-anne-frank-or-babi Good job, Remnant, for giving him a platform to spew.

Reconstruction of the cultural landscape - 2800 churches are disappearing in France (Paris) France mayor tear down Catholic churches to build parking lots or shopping centers. The renovation costs were too high. 2800 churches will disappear in this way, according to a report by the French Senate. In France, the controversy over the demolition of Catholic churches is not new. They are dilapidated and abandoned. Yet every time rises violent protest from the population if a church to be razed. "People feel that more than a few walls are torn. You feel a fundamental change in their environment, their culture...

Today (August 17) the Vatican announced that by motu proprio (his own initiative), Francis has formally erected the new “super-dicastery” of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the Family and Life (PCLFL), effective September 1. The new dicastery will absorb (and thus abolish) the Pontifical Councils for the Family and the Laity and will also overlap the function of the still-existing Pontifical Academy for Life, one of whose members, the German philosopher Josef Siefert, published a devastating critique of the disastrous Amoris Laetitia, calling upon Francis to correct its errors against the Faith. Francis has appointed as head of the...

In an op-ed at Crisis, Steubenville professor Timothy J. Williams argues that the Church should spend less time apologizing for Christians’ alleged past sins, and instead own up to its indifference to the moral evils of our own day. In particular, Williams is concerned by Pope Francis’ recent remarks that Christians seek forgiveness “from the poor, from exploited women, [and] from children exploited as laborers.” The remarks came after the pope had said he agreed with Cardinal Reinhard Marx’s call for the Church to apologize to homosexuals. While these apologies have been a mainstay of the last three popes, starting...

In what has to be a new low for the New York Times, the Gray Lady (or should we now say the Bearded Lady?) has published an op-ed piece titled “Is God Transgender?” by a New York rabbi named Mark Sameth. Cousin to a man who “transitioned to a woman” in the 1970s, Sameth contends that “the Hebrew Bible, when read in its original language, offers a highly elastic view of gender.” He marshals many purported examples of gender fluidity in the Hebrew scriptures, in order to argue that religion should not be put in service of “social prejudices” against...

I Got a Robe! A Teaching on One of the Most Shocking Parables Jesus Ever Told Msgr. Charles Pope • August 18, 2016 • The Gospel from Thursday’s Mass (Thursday of the 20th Week of the Year) contains one of the most shocking parables Jesus ever told. It is the Parable of the Wedding Feast from the Gospel of Matthew, and it tells the story of a king who gives a wedding banquet for his son. Most know it well, but in case you want to review it, the full text is available here: Parable of the Wedding Feast.It...

GOD’S WORD “The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.” (Proverbs 14:15) HEROES’ WORDS “The prudent man considers things afar off, in so far as they tend to be a help or a hindrance to that which has to be done at the present time.” -St. Thomas Aquinas MEDITATION Human virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith. They make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life. The virtuous man is he...