Pittsburgh announces more parish mergers (TribLive) Forty parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will merge into 14 new groupings in January, Bishop David Zubik announced Saturday. Changes will take place Jan. 4 and affect churches across the region, from Mt. Washington and Moon to South Hills and Shadyside. Zubik said it is a pivotal time for future planning and that the mission is to strengthen the diocese…
At Mass with new cardinals, Pope warns of worldliness (CNS) Concelebrating Mass with newly created cardinals, Pope Francis said Advent is a time to be vigilant, hopeful and helpful. People of faith who believe in the heaven that awaits them should not be caught up with earthly concerns, he said during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Nov. 29, the first Sunday of Advent, which marks the start of a new liturgical year. “Why should we be anxious about money, fame, success, all of which will fade away? Why should we waste time complaining about the night, when the light of day awaits us?” he asked…
Pandemic calls off Christmas markets in Europe (AP) The European plazas where people would usually gather at crowded stalls to partake in hot mulled wine, gingerbread, sausages and other delicacies are just empty squares. Christmas markets, a cherished tradition in Germany and neighboring countries, have joined the long list of annual traditions that were canceled or diminished this year because of the coronavirus pandemic…
Depression, stress affecting Navajo, priest says (Crux) Everyday Father Dale Jamison holds a private Mass for three to five parishioners at the St. Mary Mission church in New Mexico, located on the Navajo Reservation. The priest said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the only in-person worship on the reservation – over 27,000 square miles spread over New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah — other than a drive through communion one afternoon a week…
The rumble in Dorothy Day’s soul still quakes 40 years after her death (NCR) Dorothy Day’s influence abides. So much so that some have seen her as the seminal Catholic figure across the 20th century. Her cause for sainthood has been initiated even in the wake of a lifetime that included allegiance to the Communist party, affairs, an abortion, divorce, an out-of-wedlock birth, two suicide attempts and a youth colored by excessive drinking, chain-smoking and a lurid vocabulary, as well as estrangement from her father and older brothers…
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