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Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, permanently removed Deacon Albert Mazza from his duties at a Westchester County Catholic Church, following child sex abuse allegations that stem back years according to Eyewitness News on Sunday. Deacon Albert Mazza had served the Holy Name of Mary Parish in Croton-on-Hudson since 1996. The Westchester deacon was removed after “substantiated and credible” sources confirmed he had sexually abused minors years ago. Law enforcement officials referred the case to the archdiocese several months prior, however criminal charges could not be filed as the statute of limitations had expired.

President Barack Obama had warm words Wednesday for what he sees as Pope Francis' inclusive attitude in recent remarks urging the Roman Catholic church not to focus only on abortion or gays. In an interview with CNBC on the shrill standoff between Republicans and Democrats that has produced the first partial US government shutdown in 17 years, Obama was asked about the Argentina-born pope's moderate tone. "I have been hugely impressed with the pope's pronouncements. Not because of any particular issue, but-- you know, first of all, he seems somebody who-- lives out-- the teachings of Christ," Obama said. Pope...

Someone alerted me to a piece at the Italian site Corrispondenza Romana about something that Pope Francis said during a morning “fervorino” at Mass. My translation: Last Saturday 7 September during his morning meditation in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Pope Francis, speaking on the theme “there is no Christian without Jesus” criticized Christian “revelationists” and expressed his strong reservations about the supposed apparitions at Medjugorje. The official site of the Holy See and the L’Osservatore Romano, however, purged his words of the reference to Medjugorje, confining itself to refer to them in these terms: “There is another...

October 3, 2013 Thursday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Neh 8:1-4a, 5-6, 7b-12 The whole people gathered as one in the open space before the Water Gate,and they called upon Ezra the scribeto bring forth the book of the law of Moseswhich the LORD prescribed for Israel.On the first day of the seventh month, therefore,Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly,which consisted of men, women,and those children old enough to understand.Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate,he read out of the book from daybreak until midday,in...

Note: An extensive interview with Joseph Sciambra is included below the story. NAPA, California, October 2, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Joseph Sciambra, 44, will be the first to tell you of his large-hearted and abiding love for gays. He will also be the first to tell you that despite its feel-good name, genuine happiness cannot be found in the “gay” lifestyle. The former gay porn actor has described his own journey into the darkest core of the gay underworld in the Castro District of San Francisco in the early 90’s as like being “Swallowed by Satan” – the title of his...

QUEBEC CITY, October 2, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Three members of the radical feminist topless protest group Femen disrupted proceedings in the Quebec legislature on Tuesday. After shouting from the gallery and removing their shirts, the trio was quickly hustled away by security. The group said they were protesting the presence of the crucifix on the wall of the National Assembly in light of the Quebec government's proposed secular “charter of values,” which seeks to ban “overt and conspicuous” religious symbols in public institutions. The Femen protesters being detained after disrupting the Quebec legislature. One of the "Femen Quebec" members, Julie-Anne...

DUBLIN, October 2, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Irish priest has announced that he is resigning from the board of Dublin’s largest maternity hospital after the hospital announced that they would be complying with the law requiring them to commit abortions. The recently passed Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act, which has not yet come into effect, allows for direct abortions in cases where there is “a risk to the life of a woman as a result of her pregnancy, including risk of suicide.” The law names 25 hospitals around Ireland, several of which are Catholic, that are obliged to make...

A small bomb consisting of a camping gas cylinder combined with gunpowder exploded in Zaragoza Basilica in Spain on Wednesday afternoon. No one was injured and left-wing anarchists against the Bourbon monarchy are being blamed. The bomb exploded in the central area of the Zaragoza Basilica of our Lady of the PIllar (Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza) at around 13:50 local time. There were no injuries and no damage to the Baroque church was reported. Spanish news agency Efe is reporting that police suspect left-wing anarchists in the placing of the home-made device. Reportedly the bomb bore...

Featured Term (selected at random):CANTICLEIn the Divine Office a sacred chant from Scripture apart from the psalms. In the Roman Breviary there are many canticles from the Old Testament. The three evangelical canticles of the New Testament recited daily in the Divine Office are the Benedictus of Zechariah, Magnificat of the Blessed Virgin, and the Nunc Dimittis of Simeon. (Etym. Latin canticulum, a little song.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

I finally got the glacial site of the vile Italian daily La Repubblica to cough up the latest Franciscan interview… in Italian.When I read in the English version that Pope allegedly said, “The Son of God became incarnate in the souls of men to instill the feeling of brotherhood”, I said to myself, “That can’t be right. Swap out brotherhood with something like ‘sisterhood’ and he sounds like an LCWR nun, and he is no fan of theirs or of their ‘female machismo’!”  No! Allow me to amend.  None of them would have said that.  They’ve grown beyond Jesus and...

ROME, October 1, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - From inside the Vatican to the back halls of diocesan offices many officials are wishing Pope Francis would stop granting off-the-cuff interviews that have led to an ever-increasing need to correct misinterpretations. While perplexed reactions are continuing to flow in following last week’s publication of the now-famous Jesuit magazine interview, another controversial interview with Pope Francis was released Tuesday. The interview, published in Italy’s La Repubblica daily newspaper, was conducted at the Pope’s residence by prominent atheist Eugenio Scalfari, whom the Pope had addressed in an op-ed published by the paper earlier this month....

October 2, 2013 Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels    Reading 1 Neh 2:1-8 In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,when the wine was in my charge,I took some and offered it to the king.As I had never before been sad in his presence,the king asked me, “Why do you look sad?If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart.�Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:“May the king live forever!How could I not look sadwhen the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,and its gates have been eaten...

Bishop Andrej Glavan of Novo Mesto, the president of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference, participated in the laying of the foundation stone for the nation’s first mosque on September 14, according to a statement from the conference. Bishop Glavan called the mosque a “symbol of the opening of the Slovenian society, but also a symbol of commitment to future generations to live in dialogue, mutual respect and friendship.” The bishop “also expressed the desire that Christians in the Muslim world could enjoy the same mode of religious liberty,” according to the conference. The nation’s bishops have found in Slovenia’s leading Muslim...

The last version of the continuing resolution that House Speaker John Boehner (R.-Ohio) pushed through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Monday—and that the Democrat-controlled Senate summarily rejected—surrendered a position that House Republicans had taken in the previous CR that protected Americans from being forced by an Obamacare regulation to act against their moral or religious convictions. The Obamacare regulation in question effectively prohibits American Catholics from freely practicing their faith in the way they live their daily lives. Indeed, the Catholic bishops of the United States have unanimously declared this regulation an “unjust and illegal mandate” and “a violation...

How do you read the Bible? Today is the feast day of Saint Jerome, who once quipped, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.�“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.� – Saint Jerome It’s a running joke that if you want to find a Bible verse, you ought to ask a Protestant and not a Catholic. Protestants read the Bible. Catholics not so much.This raises the question:Why Don’t More Catholics Read the Bible? I think the answer lies in the fact that we Catholics go to Mass. The Holy Mass has at least two Bible readings every time. If...

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Immigration is a phenomenon America has experienced countless times over the centuries and with each wave of new arrivals to our shores comes a discussion of how we should react. Because what is decided about our immigration laws will have long-lasting material and spiritual consequences, we have decided to write this pastoral letter to emphasize some of the moral principles that should be considered in the discussion. Before going into details, however, we want to make clear that this letter should not be seen as an endorsement of any specific legislation currently being considered....

Dialogue between Francis and La Repubblica's founder, Eugenio Scalfari: "Starting from the Second Vatican Council, open to modern culture". The conversation in the Vatican after the Pope's letter to La Repubblica: "Convert you? Proselytism is solemn nonsense. You have to meet people and listen to them."by EUGENIO SCALFARIPope Francis told me: "The most serious of the evils that afflict the world these days are youth unemployment and the loneliness of the old. The old need care and companionship; the young need work and hope but have neither one nor the other, and the problem is they don't even look for...

Featured Term (selected at random):FALL OF JERUSALEMDestruction of the sacred city in A.D. 70 after a siege of 143 days, in which, according to Tacitus (Histories, V, 13) 600,000 Jews perished, many by crucifixion. The Roman Emperor Titus razed its buildings and destroyed its temple. It is believed that the house that was the scene of Pentecost and the Last Supper was spared and became the first Christian church. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission. 

The 3:30 Beads In the middle of May, 2010, a FReeper by the name of Irisshlass commented to me:Maybe we Catholics here can form a prayer group and at a certain hour of the day or night, we all say our rosaries in our home. Even though we are not together we are in heart ...I took her suggestion to heart, and we started up a thread for same, and some people joined up to pray. At the time Irisshlass (a.k.a. Maureen, "little Mary") had no idea five short months later (Oct. 3), she would be in eternity with her...

On September 20th, during a Papal Audience, a man drew close to Pope Francis, carrying with him a somewhat suspicious looking bag. Inside were half a dozen surgical instruments of various types and sizes which he, Dr Antonio Oriente from Messina, ex-abortion gynaecologist, wanted to deliver at all costs to the Holy Father. This luggage had already created problems as he boarded the plane from Palermo. He then became the central protagonist in an event, that despite being unscheduled on the programme of the Mater Care International Conference in Rome had an enormous symbolic impact on the participants. These were...

October 1, 2013 Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church    Reading 1 Zec 8:20-23 Thus says the LORD of hosts:There shall yet come peoples,the inhabitants of many cities;and the inhabitants of one city shall approach those of another,and say, “Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD�;and, “I too will go to seek the LORD.�Many peoples and strong nations shall cometo seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalemand to implore the favor of the LORD.Thus says the LORD of hosts:In those days ten men of every nationality, speaking different...

So much ink has been spilled on the Pope’s interview, and most of it has just been reactive tripe. On my hour and a half commute home today I did a lot of serious thinking on this interview one more time and I have some random thoughts I want to share. I know we have beat this to death and it is not as fun as talking about Bourbon and cigars, but here are my thoughts. My apologies in advance for their length.First, I think the analysis by Philip Lawler on this is the best, where he likens Pope Francis...

<p>It’s not hard to understand why people are so excited about Pope Francis. Since his sensational interview last week, many have said that with his personal warmth and determination to put doctrine in the background, Francis is just the man to bring a lot of fallen-away Catholics back into the church.</p>

Featured Term (selected at random):SACRAMENT OF THE APOSTOLATE The sacrament of confirmation viewed as divinely established for enabling Christians not only to preserve their own faith but to share it with others. It effects are similar to what occurred on Pentecost Sunday, when the Holy Spirit came down on the Apostles and gave them the wisdom, zeal, and courage they needed to proclaim the Gospel and promote the Kingdom of Christ. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Never before in the history of Christian-Jewish relations have a Pope and a Rabbi celebrated their friendship by living in the Vatican together for several days, sharing all meals, including on two Jewish festivals and the Sabbath at which the Rabbi said prayers in Hebrew, and discussing what more they can do together to promote dialogue and peace in the world. That is what actually happened over the past four days at the Vatican guesthouse (Santa Marta) where Pope Francis lives and where his friend from Buenos Aires, Rabbi Abraham Skorka, has been his guest from September 25 to this...

September 30, 2013 Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church    Reading 1 Zec 8:1-8 This word of the LORD of hosts came: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am intensely jealous for Zion,stirred to jealous wrath for her.Thus says the LORD:I will return to Zion,and I will dwell within Jerusalem;Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city,and the mountain of the LORD of hosts,the holy mountain. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women,each with staff in hand because of old age,shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem.The city shall be filled...

“O Glorious Prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and in the terrible warfare that we are waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come to the aid of man, whom Almighty God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of Satan. “Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host,...

 September 29, 2013 Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Am 6:1a, 4-7 Thus says the LORD the God of hosts:Woe to the complacent in Zion!Lying upon beds of ivory,stretched comfortably on their couches,they eat lambs taken from the flock,and calves from the stall!Improvising to the music of the harp,like David, they devise their own accompaniment.They drink wine from bowlsand anoint themselves with the best oils;yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile,and their wanton revelry shall be done away with. Responsorial Psalm Ps 146:7, 8-9,...

Q - A few years ago, it was announced that the term "Yahweh" is no longer to be used (removed from all songs). It seemed like an odd decision and with all that is going on in the world, a huge waste of time to make a big deal about. Why did we do this? A - Thanks for the question! I know this is a point of confusion for many. I hope I can adequately explain the reasoning behind the decision, but let me first point out something else. Don't think the Church isn't doing those other more important...

Featured Term (selected at random):DEAD SEA SCROLLSA collection of manuscripts and numerous fragments excavated in 1947 at the site of the ancient Qumran community, located close tot he Dead Sea in Palestine. The principal texts include a set of rules for a monastic community, namely, The Manual of Discipline, A Zadokite Document (discovered earlier in Cairo), and a Formulary of Blessings; two collections of hymns; several commentaries on the Books of Micah, Nahum, and Habakuk; a long oration of Moses; and epic on The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness; and a manual for...

  Abbess, Poet, Pharmacist, Mystic The Life of St. Hildegard of Bingen By: Hallie Riedel and Louise PerrottaWe’ve all heard about the typical “renaissance man�—someone who is talented in a wide variety of areas and who puts those talents to good use. We might think of the scholar-athletes we knew in high school, or the business manager who is also a concert pianist. Pope John Paul II himself was a poet, philosopher, skier, playwright, and diplomat. Even though she was born long before the Renaissance began, St. Hildegard of Bingen, is another figure who merits the title. Equipped with a...

September 28, 2013 Saturday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Zec 2:5-9, 14-15a I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked:there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.I asked, “Where are you going?�He answered, “To measure Jerusalem,to see how great is its width and how great its length.� Then the angel who spoke with me advanced,and another angel came out to meet him and said to him,“Run, tell this to that young man:People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country,because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst.But I will...

One reason that Pope Francis rattles the cages of many faithful Catholics is that the emphasis of his message is prying at our disordered attachments. It is not that he is seeking to strip us of our commitments to critical social causes like the abolition of abortion or pornography, but that he wants us to move these important things to their proper place. ... If you recall, it was the Moral Majority that helped to elect President Reagan and began what many saw as a conservative revolution in our country. It is an unfortunate reality that the movement quickly faded...

Catholic Bishop Stands His Ground on Obamacare Rule: ‘We Cannot--We Will Not--Comply With This Unjust Law’ (CNSNews.com) – As many Americans start to enroll in the Obamacare health insurance exchanges on Oct. 1, the position of Bishop Paul S. Loverde, head of the Catholic diocese of Arlington, Va., on the law’s mandate that nearly all health insurance plans include contraception, sterilizations, and abortifacient drugs without co-pays has not changed and is clear: “We cannot--we will not--comply with this unjust law.” Bishop Loverde made that statement in a joint letter with Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo of the Richmond Diocese to the...

It’s not a joke. It’s something that Pope Francis has thought about before: naming a woman cardinal. Those who know the pope, both before and after he took over from Ratzinger, say that the first Jesuit pontiff is not only surprising people with his comments, but also with his actions. And this has been happening throughout his first six months in the role.Those who think that Francis – who has all the simplicity of a parish priest – is a naïve man are wrong. This pope isn’t an ordinary pope. He has come to St. Peter’s with concrete plans for...

WASHINGTON (CNS) — In California, the focus Oct. 5 will be on the immigrants who produce the food eaten around the country, including in the dining rooms of Congress. Groups will gather in agricultural centers around the state to rally supporters of comprehensive immigration reform, urging the House of Representatives to take up and pass legislation approved by the Senate this summer. In the southwestern corner of Arizona, people who want to make a stand for immigration reform plan to meet at three Catholic churches in Yuma at 5 a.m. to board buses to Phoenix, where there will be a...

Featured Term (selected at random):QUO VADIS?Latin words for the question that, according to legend, was asked of Christ by Peter as he was fleeing Rome during Nero's persecution. Christ is said to have answered, "I am coming to be crucified again." Peter took this as a rebuke, so he went back to be martyred. It is also the title of a famous Polish novel (1895) by Hendryk Sienkiewicz on the life of the early Christians in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life....

September 27, 2013Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest    Reading 1 Hg 2:1-9 In the second year of King Darius,on the twenty-first day of the seventh month,the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:Tell this to the governor of Judah,Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak,and to the remnant of the people: Who is left among youthat saw this house in its former glory?And how do you see it now?Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?But now take courage, Zerubbabel, says the LORD,and take courage, Joshua, high priest, son...

(Vatican Radio) The following is a joint statement of the Bilateral Commission of the Holy See and the State of Palestine at the conclusion of their plenary meeting on 26th September 2013. "On 26 September 2013, the Bilateral Commission of the Holy See and the State of Palestine, which is working on a Global Agreement following on the Basic Agreement, which was signed on 15 February 2000, held a Plenary Session in the Vatican to acknowledge the work done at an informal level by the joint technical group following the last official meeting held in Ramallah at the Ministry of...

(Vatican Radio)To know Jesus, you have to get involved with Him, as pointed out by Pope Francis at Mass this morning in the Casa Santa Marta. The Pope said that Jesus is to be encountered in everyday life. He indicated the three languages needed to know Jesus: that of the mind, that of the heart, and that of action. Who is He? where does He come from? In remarks after the readings at Mass on Thursday morning in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae residence in the Vatican, Pope Francis focused on the question that Herod posed about Jesus...

Q: We have a permanent deacon at our parish. Some of us are wondering if the pastor sometimes allows him to do things that he’s not supposed to do… for example, occasionally the deacon preaches a homily at Sunday Mass instead of the priest. Is that permissible? What are the limits of what a deacon can do? —Jay A: It’s a good question! Lay Catholics generally understand that because a deacon is not a priest, there are some sacramental/liturgical actions which he cannot perform. But occasionally the laity are taken aback when they see a deacon engaged in some sort...

A prominent Roman Catholic priest in Argentina has been jailed, four years after being convicted of sexually abusing a teenage boy. A court in Buenos Aires province rejected an appeal by Father Julio Cesar Grassi, who has been sentenced to 15 years in jail, to remain under house arrest. He was convicted in 2009 of abusing the boy at his "Happy Children" foundation.

Featured Term (selected at random):WASHING OF THE HANDSLiturgical washing of the fingers by a priest before Mass and after Mass, which is not prescribed; and washing the fingers at the Offertory, which is part of the Eucharistic liturgy. It symbolizes the purity of conscience expected of the celebrant at Mass and the respect due to the Eucharistic elements handled during Mass. The hands are also washed by a bishop after using chrism in confirmation and holy orders, and by a priest after using the holy oils at baptism and anointing of the sick. All items in this dictionary are...

Senator Ted Cruz’s 21-hour effort Tuesday and Wednesday drew derision from both inside and outside the halls of the Capitol. But Cruz’s allies tell National Review Online that they hope his “talking filibuster” could end up being a game-changer in the Senate. Advocates of the defund effort are pushing for Senate Republicans to vote against cloture on the House-written CR on Friday, in an effort to keep Reid from adding an amendment to strip the bill of the provision that defunds the Affordable Care Act. It would take 41 votes to prevent cloture, and there’s nowhere near that much support...

WASHINGTON (RNS) After decades of glum trends — fewer priests, fewer parishes — the Catholic Church in the United States has a new statistic to cheer: More men are now enrolled in graduate level seminaries, the main pipeline to the priesthood, than in nearly two decades.This year’s tally of 3,694 graduate theology students represents a 16 percent increase since 1995 and a 10 percent jump since 2005, according to Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).Seminary directors cite more encouragement from bishops and parishes, the draw of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and the social-justice-minded Pope Francis, and...

September 26, 2013 Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Hg 1:1-8 On the first day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius,The word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggaito the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak: Thus says the LORD of hosts: This people says:“The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.�(Then this word of the LORD came through Haggai, the prophet:)Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses,while this house...

40 Days for Life runs through November 3 in 306 citiesToday [September 24] ... we launch a new campaign -- and a new video that shows just what God can do over these next 40 days. In this short video, you'll meet people whose lives are forever changed ... because of faithful, prayerful volunteers ... during 40 Days for Life.There are two former Planned Parenthood managers -- and a woman who chose life for her baby, simply because there were people outside the abortion center who were specifically praying for her and her child. Hear their amazing stories in...

One of the more frequent concerns expressed by many Catholics is level of talking and other noise in churches in recent decades. Many of us who are a bit older remember a time when to walk even into a rather full Church was to walk into a realm of great silence. People just didn’t talk in church. One would enter, find their pew, genuflect, and then kneel for private prayer before Mass began. When Mass concluded, one might kneel for a brief while for prayer, but then leave quietly, not talking until in the vestibule or outside the church. Even...

Navis Pictures Producer Jim Morlino was looking for a story for his next film when a friend gave him a book with a story about a little known war in an area of Western France known as the Vendee - a story that he believed would be especially compelling to modern day Catholics. "More than just compelling, the magnitude of the story of the French Revolutionary Government's war against the Catholic Church, and the fact that these events were virtually unknown to most of the world, I found shocking," said Morlino. "How could a war which lasted for years,...

A Catholic religious order, the Little Sisters of the Poor, has filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration asking the courts to protect them from being forced to comply with the HHS abortion mandate. The mandate compels religious groups to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions. Yesterday, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor, a religious order of Sisters dedicated to caring for the elderly poor. Without relief, the Little Sisters face millions of dollars in IRS fines because they cannot comply with the government’s...