Ex-priest dies just before facing charges in killing of altar boy (The New York Times) On May 21, prosecutors and investigators in Hampden County decided they finally had enough evidence to arrest Richard R. Lavigne, who had been defrocked in 2004 for molesting two boys and was staying in a hospital in Greenfield, 40 miles north of Springfield. But just hours after they had begun preparing a request for an arrest warrant for murder, investigators learned that Mr. Lavigne, 80, had died, said the Hampden County district attorney, Anthony D. Gulluni…
Pope invites Lebanese Christians to Vatican (AP) Pope Francis has invited representatives of Lebanon’s Christian community to the Vatican on July 1 for a day of prayer and reflection “about the worrisome situation in the country.” Francis announced the encounter during his Sunday noon blessing, saying the aim was to “pray together for the gift of peace and stability.” He asked for prayers ahead of the meeting and for Lebanon itself so the country can enjoy “a more serene future…”
Archbishop: Military ‘largest single source’ of vocations to priesthood (CNA) The archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services says that the military is the “largest single source of vocations to the priesthood” in the United States. According to a CARA report released in March on the ordination class of 2021, “Around one in twenty responding ordinands (5%) served in the U.S. Armed Forces, who were all diocesan ordinands.” The report also found that roughly “one in nine responding ordinands (11%) report that one or both parents had a military career in the U.S. Armed Forces…”
Jailed Indian Jesuit tests positive for COVID (UCANews) Jesuits in India have sought prayers for their jailed 84-year-old confrere Father Stan Swamy after he tested positive for Covid-19 in a hospital. The elderly priest was moved to church-run Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai city on May 28 following a court order after his health deteriorated since his incarceration began on Oct. 9 last year…
‘Boris Johnson had every right to be married in the Catholic Church’ (America) In this case, both are baptized Catholics. Mr. Johnson was raised Catholic by his mother Charlotte, a portrait painter, who divorced from his father Stanley in 1979. True, at Eton, Boris chose to be confirmed in the Church of England, but in the eyes of the Catholic Church he remains a Catholic. So we can check that box…
