Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
A recent survey has found that a majority of religiously unaffiliated Americans say they left organized religion because they question a lot of religious teachings. This is hardly news to most Catholic parents, but the poll gives some surprising clues about what can be done to stem the tide of children leaving the Church.
(Wikipedia/Public Domain)
Pope Francis has announced that he will canonize 19-year-old Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio, an Italian teen who lived a life filled with tragic losses and painful health problems, all of which he bore out of love for Jesus Christ.
The original Portiuncula is located within the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi (Wikicommons)
On the Franciscan calendar, August 2nd marks a very special Marian feast day, one which commemorates the remarkable connection between Our Lady of the Angels and Saint Francis of Assisi. The story behind this connection is well worth telling.
This hard-hitting letter by Ralph Martin, president of Renewal Ministries in Ann Arbor, Michigan and director of graduate programs in the new evangelization at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, addresses the fallout from the serious charges that have been leveled against Washington DC’s retired Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick. It not only addresses the problem, but offers common-sense advice for everyday Catholics who are struggling to come to terms with this new scandal.
Fifty years after the publication of Humanae Vitae, a prophetic document that linked the use of contraception to the decline of fidelity and marriage and respect for women and children, 500 priests from the UK published a statement offering their full support of this consequential publication.
After the sale of a newborn by an employee of the nuns of Mother Teresa in Ranchi, India sparked an inquiry into all of the homes where the Missionaries of Charity care for children, Superior General Sister Mary Prema set the record straight in a statement in which she said the case is riddled with myths, distortions, fake news and baseless innuendo.
Statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel located on the main altar of Stella Maris Monastery on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel (photo by Fallaner – CC BY-SA 4.0)
On the evening of February 14, 1876 in Pellevoisin, France, a young woman named Estelle Faguette lay dying of pulmonary tuberculosis. In mortal agony, and with just hours to live, Estelle begged God for the strength to accept death. Suddenly at the foot of her bed, the devil appeared and what happened next became one of the most remarkable interventions of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on record.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was nominated by President Donald J. Trump to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, was unabashed about his faith and Catholic upbringing in his acceptance speech.
In response to an uptick in the number of women requesting permission to dedicate themselves to God as consecrated virgins, the Vatican has issued revised guidelines on this ancient and sacred path known as the Ordo virginum (Order of virgins).
As we near the 50th Anniversary of the promulgation of Humanae Vitae, the Church’s definitive statement on artificial birth control, nearly 200 Catholic youth have published an open letter of support for the document, calling it “beautiful and prophetic.”
