These Catholics Died for the Faith in 2023

Catholics are still dying for the Faith. In 2023, 20 men and women from nearly every continent laid down their lives for Christ, including a mother and daughter who were killed in Gaza as they walked into a Catholic church, two young students who were killed when a bomb was detonated at a Mass in the Philippines, and a Nigerian priest who was burned alive in his rectory.

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Controversy Grows Over Same Sex Blessing Declaration

The issuing of the declaration entitled, Fiducia supplicans, by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith (DDF) on December 18 was meant to open the door to allow same-sex couples to receive a form of blessing in the Church, but many experts say it is opening the door to a great deal of confusion and controversy as well.

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Troubled Nebraska Priest Stabbed to Death in Rectory

Father Stephen Gutgsell, 65, was stabbed to death in the rectory of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska on December 10. The murder of Father Gutgsell, who had a troubled past, marks the 100th attack on Catholic churches in 2023.

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What Does Santa Have to Do With Saint Nicholas?

Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS

Several years ago, William J. Bennett wrote a book entitled, The True St. Nicholas: Why He Matters to Christmas, in which he details the story of this heroic saint and how his story became the foundation for the Santa Claus we know today.

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Interim Report on FBI Probe of Catholics Raises Alarm

The Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government in the U.S. House of Representatives released an alarming report of its findings on the FBI’s targeting of certain Catholic Americans they categorized as “potential domestic terrorists.”

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“Witch Bottles” Turning Up on Texas Coast

Witch bottles
(Photo courtesy of Wikicommons, Malcolm Lidbury, CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED)

Beach goers are reporting on a series of eerie finds that have been washing up along the Gulf coast of Texas recently – glass bottles containing strange objects that are supposedly used by witches to trap malevolent spirits.

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Vatican Reaffirms Condemnation of Freemasonry

Due to an alarming increase in enrollment in Freemasonry in the Philippines, the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) released a new document that reaffirmed the Church’s long-standing condemnation of masonry.

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Pastor Disciplined After Allowing Smutty Video to be Taped in Church

Sabrina Carpenter (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Phillip Mansfield CC BY 3.0 DEED)

Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, pastor of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Brooklyn has been relieved of his administrative duties after he allowed a scantily dressed pop star to film a lewd video inside his church.

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