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Gabriel Bodenheimer could have lost his job when he recently came out as transgender to leaders of a San Francisco Catholic high school. Instead, in what some call a momentous step, the English teacher will remain at Mercy High, fully accepted as a man. The announcement of support by an order of the Sisters of Mercy, which owns and operates the four-year college preparatory school for girls on 19th Avenue, offers a rare policy position on transgender rights from within an internationally respected Catholic order.

May 14, 2016 Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle Reading 1 Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters(there was a group of about one hundred and twenty personsin the one place).He said, “My brothers and sisters,the Scripture had to be fulfilledwhich the Holy Spirit spoke beforehandthrough the mouth of David, concerning Judas,who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.Judas was numbered among usand was allotted a share in this ministry.For it is written in the Book of Psalms: Let his encampment become desolate,and may no one dwell in it.and:May another take his...

May 13, 2016 marks the 99th anniversary of the Marian apparitions at Fatima, Portugal. For the past century individuals around the world have developed theories meant to decipher the hidden message of the three “secrets” of Fatima. Yet, Sister Lucia said herself that, “the interpretation belonged not to the visionary but to the Church.” It is up to the Church to interpret the various signs and symbols of Our Lady of Fatima to give the faithful a clear guide in understanding what God wants to reveal to us.The Church did exactly that in the year 2000 when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,...

MOUNT POCONO -- Police in part of Monroe County are looking for the person who spray-painted "Trump" outside a church. The name of presidential hopeful Donald Trump was painted on a sign that sits outside St. Mary of the Mount in Mount Pocono. The church closed last year, and neighbors say since then there have never been any problems until now. People who live nearby cannot believe someone would vandalize such a sacred place. "I think it's disgraceful. It has nothing to do with politically or what my party affiliation is but just to deface any property like that is...

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (ChurchMilitant.com) - Police are investigating acts of vandalism and subsequent threats levied against a Catholic church in Florida. According to reports, Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Delray Beach, Florida was defaced Tuesday night by unknown vandals who spray painted satanic symbols and other imagery on multiple statues and the sides of church buildings. An office administrator, who first discovered the crimes Wednesday morning, asserts pentagrams and other "satanic" signs were painted on the walls. Additionally, three statues had black masks and capes spray painted on them. "It was awful to look at," the church employee,...

A Meditation on Being Overwhelmed Msgr. Charles Pope • May 12, 2016 • The first video at the bottom of this post presents a portrait of a man who is simply overwhelmed. He can’t seem to live up to expectations, neither those that are self-imposed nor those that are imposed by others.One of the paradoxes of our time (at least in the West) is that we have so many creature comforts yet in many ways have never been so uncomfortable. Our high standard of living is accompanied by stress, worry, and a gnawing dissatisfaction. It seems that the more...

May 13, 2016 Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 25:13b-21 King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesareaon a visit to Festus.Since they spent several days there,Festus referred Paul’s case to the king, saying,“There is a man here left in custody by Felix.When I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and the elders of the Jewsbrought charges against him and demanded his condemnation.I answered them that it was not Roman practiceto hand over an accused person before he has faced his accusersand had the opportunity to defend himself against their charge.So when they came together here,...

At the beginning of the 20th century, sick Americans typically died at home. By the middle of it, they mostly died in hospitals. And yet this great transformation in the geography of death was, at first, of little interest to medical providers: In the 1960s, some doctors routinely chose not to inform terminal patients of their fate. Studies found hospitals stashing dying people at the ends of halls and largely ignoring them. Medicine, it was said, was about healing people. It had nothing to offer the already dying. That began to change with the broad acceptance of hospice, which spread...

First, today I saw a piece at Breitbart that Pope Francis popularity has dropped.  HEREThat said, I have received links to various articles saying that the Pope has considered establishing a commission to study the issue of the ordination of woman as deaconesses…. (aka deaconettes -it’s easier to pronounce).Studying is one thing and doing is another.That said, I saw something telling in the Fishwrap account (aka National Schismatic Reporter). The pope responded that he had spoken about the matter once some years ago with a “good, wise professor” who had studied the use of female deacons in the early centuries of...

Mind your Mind! A Reflection on the Battleground of the Mind Msgr. Charles Pope • May 11, 2016 • In the Gospel for Mass yesterday (Wednesday after Ascension), the Lord said that the world would hate and persecute the disciples and He thus prayed that we would be consecrated in the truth. In the first reading, St. Paul warned the presbyters that after his departure “savage wolves” would seek to mislead the faithful. We hardly ever talk like this today, but there is a great battle for our hearts and minds. How seriously do we consider this battle?There is...

May 12, 2016 Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 Wishing to determine the truthabout why Paul was being accused by the Jews,the commander freed himand ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them. Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,so he called out before the Sanhedrin,“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”When he said this,a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,and the...

More than two dozen prominent pro-life and Catholic leaders have signed a statement urging Catholic colleges and universities “to reject the culture of death and instead stand firm in defending truth and the Catholic identity of their institutions… by refusing to honor and award speaking platforms to public advocates of abortion and same-sex marriage.” The statement, which was released Wednesday by the Cardinal Newman Society, was prompted by “scandals” at three Catholic universities that are honoring people who openly defy Catholic teaching, including Vice President Joe Biden. Signatories include Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life; Brian Brown,...

Last February, archaeologists unearthed a unique rock-carved underground church in Nevsehir, in the central Turkish region of Cappadocia. The church was decorated with never before seen frescoes depicting Jesus’ Ascension, the Final Judgement, Jesus feeding the multitudes, and portraits of saints and prophets.The discovery, made during excavations and cleaning operations in an underground city recently uncovered as part of an urban project in Nevsehir, is located within a castle that might date back to the fifth century. Authorities expect it will make Cappadocia an even more important pilgrimage center for Orthodox Christians. Semih İstanbulluoğlu, the archaeologist who heads the works for...

UPPER SANDUSKY — One or more vandals discharged a fire extinguisher inside Transfiguration of the Lord Catholic Church on Thursday night, the Upper Sandusky Police Department reported. A scheduled Mass was canceled because of the “massive cleanup” required, police said. The damage was discovered Friday morning by a parish employee. No arrests had been made by Friday night. The church, at 225 N. Eighth St., was previously known as St. Peter’s Catholic Church. A fire extinguisher, which hangs on a church

St. Anne's Catholic Church staff found disturbing signs of vandalism done to the statues outside of their building when they arrived to work this morning. The statues of St. Anne and St. Mary to the left of St. Anne church building and also an angel in front of the church were vandalized overnight. According to the Pastor of All Saints Perish, the statues were inappropriately painted red to symbolize blood, and one of the statues is also currently missing a hand. The staff quickly cleaned up the vandalism and by this afternoon, the paint was almost completely gone before many...

Justice and Mercy Are Alike for God Msgr. Charles Pope • May 10, 2016 • I recently prepared a talk to present to a group of lawyers on the relationship between justice and mercy. The following is a summary of the basic points: I. Distinctions – From our perspective as humans, we tend to distinguish sharply between justice and mercy.For us, justice is the rendering to each person what is due to him or her. There is a kind of “You did it, you get it” mentality (whether praise or rebuke, reward or punishment). For us, justice is about...

May 11, 2016 Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 20:28-38 At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus:“Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flockof which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers,in which you tend the Church of Godthat he acquired with his own Blood.I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you,and they will not spare the flock.And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truthto draw the disciples away after them.So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and...

Rhode Island’s Roman Catholic bishop said he wants to smell holy incense, not cannabis, in Providence’s cathedral and warned state lawmakers against transporting young people to “the land of oblivion” by legalizing marijuana. Bishop Thomas Tobin shared his opinions in an essay titled “Nope to Dope.” The essay was published on a diocesan website Tuesday, just hours before a hearing on a bill to legalize pot. Tobin said he’s heard about “zombie-like” people who are “completely stoned” filling public places in Colorado, where marijuana is legal. He said young people already addicted to electronic devices and “attached to their virtual...

Sin Can Be Attractive Bait, but There’s Always a Hook Msgr. Charles Pope • May 9, 2016 • Satan, it would seem, does not act in an arbitrary manner when trying to tempt us. Rather, he is more a master hunter carefully setting traps, or a skilled fisherman studying behavior in order to choose the most effective bait. Satan is calculating and clever.Sadly, most of us are far less calculating and clever in seeking to avoid temptation and sin. We often engage in the wishful thinking that no trouble will befall us. Our strategy seems to depend more on...

May 10, 2016 Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 20:17-27 From Miletus Paul had the presbytersof the Church at Ephesus summoned. When they came to him, he addressed them,“You know how I lived among youthe whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.I served the Lord with all humilityand with the tears and trials that came to mebecause of the plots of the Jews,and I did not at all shrink from telling youwhat was for your benefit,or from teaching you in public or in your homes.I earnestly bore witness for...