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April 2015

April 23, 2015

Parish cancels pig wrestling competition after backlash

In Wisconsin: St. Patrick Parish in Stephensville has called off its decades-old annual pig wrestling...

April 22, 2015

Lay minister wearing a deacon stole?

A deacon reader passed this along. This question popped up at Zenit and is answered...

April 22, 2015

Lay minister wearing a deacon stole?

A deacon reader passed this along. This question popped up at Zenit and is answered...

April 20, 2015

Michigan priest urges parishioners to arm themselves: “We’re not in Mayberry anymore, Toto”

From The Detroit Free Press: An Ann Arbor Catholic priest has urged his parishioners to...

April 20, 2015

Michigan priest urges parishioners to arm themselves: “We’re not in Mayberry anymore, Toto”

From The Detroit Free Press: An Ann Arbor Catholic priest has urged his parishioners to...

March 2015

March 30, 2015

Want to prove you’re a good Catholic? Get your papers in order!

An excellent nudge, from Commonweal: Want to prove you’re a good Catholic? I’m afraid you’ll...

March 30, 2015

Want to prove you’re a good Catholic? Get your papers in order!

An excellent nudge, from Commonweal: Want to prove you’re a good Catholic? I’m afraid you’ll...

March 27, 2015

Lent to go: church offers drive-thru fish fry

From The Detroit News: On Fridays during Lent, just a little before 4 p.m., a...

March 27, 2015

Lent to go: church offers drive-thru fish fry

From The Detroit News: On Fridays during Lent, just a little before 4 p.m., a...

March 26, 2015

Is there a “Francis Effect”? Let’s look at the numbers.

The research blog at CARA (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate) at Georgetown offers...

March 26, 2015

Is there a “Francis Effect”? Let’s look at the numbers.

The research blog at CARA (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate) at Georgetown offers...

March 17, 2015

Knights of Columbus: false “smear campaign” forced them to withdraw from Boston parade

From Catholic News Agency: The Massachusetts Knights of Columbus withdrew from the St. Patrick’s Day...

March 12, 2015

Knights of Columbus responds: “The State Council deeply regrets the violation of policy…”

The latest on the St. Patrick's Day parade story: On Thursday afternoon, the Knights of...

March 12, 2015

What’s “the most Catholic” state in the U.S.?

The answer: Rhode Island is still the most Catholic state in the U.S., a new...

March 09, 2015

“God has not forgotten about this community”: One of California’s poorest parishes finally gets a new church

I love this story. Way back in 2008, I preached a homily about Our Lady...

March 04, 2015

Two brothers, raised Baptist, choose two different faiths as teens

A fascinating read, from The Wall Street Journal: Many people change faiths, but not like...

February 2015

February 24, 2015

NPR: The trend of “house churches”

Details: At most churches, it's embarrassing to show up late. But if you arrive early...

February 16, 2015

Signs of faith: Mass with Pittsburgh’s Catholic deaf community

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a rare glimpse at an unusual way of worship: The 11:30...

February 07, 2015

Further proof that it’s a big Church

Details: For some their perception of the world is based on what surrounds them, such...

February 02, 2015

Report: hundreds of thousands of Germans leaving the Church over taxes

From The Telegraph: Hundreds of thousands of German Christians are formally renouncing their faith and...

January 2015

January 12, 2015

What happened when a priest invited 500 young people in his parish to talk about the church?

Read on, via National Catholic Reporter: Less than 10 percent of the 500 invited showed...

December 2014

December 31, 2014

Boom: number of Catholics throughout the world continues to grow

St. Peter's Basilica (photo: Andreas Tille / Wikipedia) From Vatican Radio: The number of Catholics...

December 31, 2014

In Santa Fe, “native spirituality and Catholic faith walk hand in hand”

Details from CNS: The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has placed new emphasis on reaching out...

December 12, 2014

“Busting at the seams,” Phoenix adds another church to serve growing Catholic population

This speaks to the vibrant faith of the American southwest—and the burgeoning immigrant population. Details: ...

December 06, 2014

Awesome: parishioner donates kidney to pastor

From CNS: A parishioner walks up to her pastor and says, "I want to give...

December 01, 2014

New York parish serving the deaf slated to close

Details: The choir members filed up to the altar in robes the color of the...

November 2014

November 12, 2014

USCCB report: Young Catholics “agree to disagree” about some Church teachings

From Catholic News Agency: While a failure to understand doctrine is present in many segments...

November 10, 2014

Bringing it all back to Jesus

Writer (and former Paulist priest) James Carroll offers his thoughts on what's ailing the Catholic...

November 05, 2014

Ways churches drive away first-time visitors

Any of this look familiar? This comes from Protestant writer and theologian Thom S. Rainer,...

November 05, 2014

R.I.P., Mary Newman

Every parish has its familiar fixtures: the windows, the statues, the shrines, the candles. At...