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February 2012

February 29, 2012

The USCCB on communion: “We should be cautious when making judgments…”

Someone reminded me of this document, put out by the USCCB in 2006, which states:...

February 29, 2012

Archdiocese of Washington sends apology to lesbian who was denied communion — UPDATED

Details: Late Tuesday, [Barbara] Johnson received a letter of apology from the Rev. Barry Knestout,...

February 28, 2012

In the e-mail: “I wanted you to know there is more to this story…”

A reader from Maryland writes about the never-ending communion controversy there: I just wanted to...

February 28, 2012

Maryland priest denies communion to lesbian at funeral — UPDATED

Details: It's been an extremely difficult week for Barbara Johnson -- perhaps the most difficult...

February 27, 2012

New call for divorced and remarried Catholics to be able to receive communion

It's something the pope himself has said needs a closer look. And now a leading...

January 2012

January 22, 2012

Why do Catholics have to get married in church?

That's the gist of this piece by writer Cara McDonough, who raises a question that's...

January 19, 2012

Family charges “cruel discrimination” over communion

Details, from the London Daily Mail: The parents of a seven-year-old boy with Down’s Syndrome...

January 17, 2012

Low-gluten hosts: the bread of life for those who can’t eat bread

An issue that is often overlooked in many parishes is now getting renewed attention --...

January 12, 2012

A liturgical practice to give you paws

I'm not sure why I'm suddenly seeing all these stories about priests and pooches, but...

January 09, 2012

Mass on a mountain

From the Diocese of Des Moines Facebook page: Thanks to Mercy Medical Center for providing...

January 08, 2012

“Christ is bathed in light…”

"Christ is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light. Christ is baptized;...

December 2011

December 27, 2011

More divorces spell out religious practice in custody agreements

And it can create quite a few complications. From the Washington Post: A cultural shift...

December 18, 2011

Taking Jesus to the people

It turns out this dramatic display last week wasn't an isolated incident. The pastor at...

December 15, 2011

Shock: number of married couples hits record low

Details, from the Washington Post: The proportion of adults who are married has plunged to...

December 10, 2011

Something we never see, but should

It happened recently at our parish mission, and it was something I'll never forget. The...

December 07, 2011

A Catholic wedding performed without a net

Remember the good old days before Vatican II, when people took sacraments seriously and priests...

November 2011

November 23, 2011

O’Malley’s message to lapsed Catholics: “We miss you, we love you”

"My dear brothers and sisters: please know that we miss you, we love you, and...

November 20, 2011

“What does an old, celibate, Catholic bishop have to say about marriage?”

If anyone was wondering about that when they attended a recent talk by Bishop R....

November 12, 2011

Doing a 180: Phoenix reverses communion decision

A surprising change of course, reported in the Arizona Republic: Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of...

November 09, 2011

“Communion under both kinds is…encouraged and is expected to be the norm”

That's the sentiment of Bishop Patrick McGrath of the Diocese of San Jose who, breaking...

November 06, 2011

But who’s counting? — UPDATED

A commenter in another post noted that his parish keeps track of how many confessions...

November 05, 2011

How long is your confession line?

That's the interesting question that Rambling Follower is asking this weekend -- and the RF...

October 2011

October 29, 2011

Oops

"The reports from the Phoenix Diocese concerning the expiration of an indult regarding Communion under...

October 05, 2011

Tweet, tweet: social media transforming weddings

It was inevitable, I guess, and now it's getting attention from the press. Details: As...

October 02, 2011

Is this the heart of Jesus?

Maybe. It was discovered three years ago, but could signify a Eucharistic miracle in Poland....

September 2011

September 25, 2011

The humbling experience of being an EMHC

After the recent decision in Phoenix, cutting back on distributing the Precious Blood at communion,...

September 22, 2011

"The miraculous healing power of lips to scars…"

If anyone wonders what it means to be married and in love after decades together,...

September 22, 2011

Phoenix restricts reception of communion under both kinds

After eliminating female altar servers at the cathedral, the Diocese of Phoenix is now eliminating...

September 04, 2011

Did you know they've used the Stanley Cup as a baptismal font?

I didn't, until blogger (and deacon's wife!) Kathy Schiffer wrote about it a few days...

August 2011

August 21, 2011

Sacred transformation: another wedding story

You might consider this the flip side of the story I posted yesterday, courtesy Fr....