Group calls for Catholic Church to recognize Anglican ordinations (CNS) A group of Catholic and Anglican theologians has publicly called on the Vatican to review and overturn a papal document from 1896 that declared Anglican ordinations “absolutely null and utterly void.” “Where we once walked apart, we now walk together in friendship and love,” wrote members of the Malines Conversations Group after tracing the history of ecumenical agreements between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion and, especially, reviewing examples of collaboration and gestures of recognition…
Council of Cardinals meets to discuss Synod, pandemic (Vatican News) The Holy See Press Office announced on Thursday that the Council of Cardinals met on 13-15 December at the Casa Santa Marta. Those present included Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Giuseppe Bertello, Oscar Rodriquez Maradiaga, Reinhard Marx, Seán O’Malley, Oswald Gracias, and Frido Ambongo Besungu. A Press Office statement said each Cardinal presented the “current political and health situation and the progress of the pandemic” of their home region. “Cardinal Grech illustrated the progress of the work of the Synod, taking stock of the journey so far and highlighting the enthusiasm found in the Episcopal Conferences and among the laity,” read the statement…
Armenian Catholic Church in America to ordain married man as priest (The Armenian Weekly) The Armenian Catholic Church in America is about to make history again when it ordains the second married priest in its history. While the notion of a married Catholic priest may sound contradictory, Asadur Minasian of St. Mark’s Church in Wynnewood outside Philadelphia will soon join the rare ranks of married Catholic priests. The Armenian Catholic Rite, like the Armenian Apostolic Church, allows for its priests to be married, though until recently the Vatican confined the practice to each rite’s “traditional territories,” which did not include the United States or Canada…
Italian bishop tells children there is no Santa Claus (The New York Times) The bishop’s broadside against Babbo Natale, as Father Christmas is called here, constituted only the latest installment in what has become a new Italian holiday tradition. Just about every year, Roman Catholic clerics insist that for Italians to keep Christ in Christmas, Santa must be kept out of it…
Peace light makes its way around the world (CNS) A flame of light from the grotto in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity is making its way around the world, including across the United States. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other volunteers carry the light and transfer it — sometimes in lanterns, sometimes with small candles. Volunteer drivers travel across the U.S., meeting groups at truck stops and other places. Some volunteers post their whereabouts in a Facebook group so others can meet them and spread the flame…
