Pope calls priests to draw near to God, bishop, priests, people (Vatican News) Pope Francis drew on over fifty years of his own priesthood in an address aimed at helping today’s priests “experience the peace and fruitfulness that the Spirit desires to bestow.” His reflections came in an address to the International Theological Symposium, promoted by the Congregation of Bishops, which opened on Thursday morning…
Vatican conference tries to reboot priesthood (AP) The Vatican opened a three-day conference Thursday on rebooting the Catholic priesthood amid a drop in vocations and a credibility crisis over the “depraved” clergy sex abuse and cover-up scandal. The conference’s organizer, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, said the symposium’s aim is to break down a “clericalized” concept of the priesthood that is at the root of the scandal. He denounced that priests had assumed a perverted place of power over their flock, when the church is really the “People of God…”
DeSantis spokeswoman accuses archbishop of lying (CNA) The governor of Florida is taking issue with an ad campaign featuring a quote from Archbishop Thomas Wenski criticizing the governor for his views on immigration. In a Feb. 15 tweet, Christina Pushaw, the press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), said that “lying is a sin” in reference to a recent ad campaign featuring the Wenski’s words. “And yes, if someone makes a false statement, whether it’s an organization of CEOs for illegal immigration or the Archbishop, I will call it like it is. They made a blatantly false statement and they should retract it,” she said…
Arsonist sentenced for burning churches (Newsweek) A convicted arsonist told a federal court that he intentionally set fire to four different churches in 2019 due to their “religious character.” Alan Douglas Fox, 29, of Nashville, Tennessee, was sentenced to seven years behind bars on Wednesday after previously pleading guilty on all counts related to the arsons. Fox was charged with the crimes last August, a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said…
Three new Catholic Worker houses opened during the pandemic (NCR) What to do when a global pandemic turns the world upside down? “Open a Catholic Worker house” may not be the first answer most of us would give. But for three groups in Iowa, Kansas and Wisconsin, it was the perfect time to found new worker communities. Inspired by the model of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin — who sparked an international movement by opening a house of hospitality in New York in 1933 — workers at Romero House, the Eliza B. Conley House and the St. Bakhita Catholic Worker House are now serving communities across the Midwest…
