Fr. Benedict on Venerable Solanus Casey

An Interesting Visitor, in the one sentence where Fr. Benedict references recently visiting St. Felix Friary where he once witnessed Solanus in ecstasy--I was with him, in fact drove him there. It was a blessed event as he would stop and recount his experiences of this future saint(I pray) of the Church.

Expect a Clarification from Cardinal McCarrick

McCarrick: Same-Sex Civil Unions Acceptable, But Not Marriage

I think it is the term "union" that should be unacceptable to a Catholic, not the "rights" issues.

New Bishop of Raleigh, New Auxiliary for Philly

The Holy Father has:

Appointed Bishop Michael Francis Burbidge, auxiliary of Philadelphia, U.S.A., as bishop of Raleigh, (area 82,524, population 4,073,983, Catholics 188,101, priests 138, permanent deacons 37, religious 118), U.S.A. He succeeds Bishop Francis Joseph Gossman, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese, the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Appointed Msgr. Daniel E. Thomas of the clergy of the archdiocese of Philadelphia, U.S.A., pastor of the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 5,652, population 3,875,021, Catholics 1,479,895, priests 1,048, permanent deacons 224, religious 3,733). The bishop-elect was born in Philadelphia in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1985.

Jesus Only Changed the Name of One

Simon bar Jonah, from the weekly audience:

Jesus did not usually change the names of his disciples”, in fact, “He never gave a new name to any of his disciples. However he did so with Simon, and that name, translated in Greek as Petros, would crop up several times in the Gospels and would end up by replacing his original name. This fact takes on particular significance when one recalls that in the Old Testament, changing a name was usually a prelude to entrusting one with a mission (cfr Jn 17:5; 32:28ff). In fact, the intention of Christ to attribute special importance to Peter within the Apostolic College emerges in many instances: in Capernaum, the Teacher went to lodge in Peter’s house (Mk 1:29); when the crowd flocked to the banks of the lake of Gennesaret, Jesus chose Peter’s boat from the two moored there (Lk 5:3); when in particular circumstances, Jesus took three disciples to accompany him, only Peter is always recalled as the first of the group: the same happened in the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus (cfr Mk 5:37; Lk 8:51); in the Transfiguration (cfr Mk 9:2; Mt 17:1; Lk 9:28), during the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (cfr Mk 14:33; Mt 16:37). And again: it was Peter who was approached by the tax collectors at the Temple and the Teacher paid for himself and for Peter alone (cfr Mt 17: 24-27); it was Peter whose feet He washed first at the Last Supper (cfr Jn 13:6) and it was only for him that He prayed so that his faith would not fail and that he may in turn strengthen his brothers (cfr Lk 22: 30-31)”.

“Peter himself is, after all, aware of his unique position: it is he who often, in the name also of the rest, speaks out, asking for an explanation for some difficult parable (Mt 15:15) or the exact meaning of a precept (Mt 18:21) or the formal promise of reward (Mt 19:27).”

Three New Auxilary Bishops for Brooklyn

Monsignor Octavio Cisneros, Monsignor Guy Sansaricq, and Monsignor Frank J. Caggiano.

A Faith in Flux

Series in the Philadelphia Enquirer on Catholicism

Conflict Over Textbook in Czech Republic

Catholic Church, educators clash over school textbook

Why does any religious educator think making fun of our faith is an acceptable way of teaching an eigth grader to embrace it?