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November 2018

November 29, 2018

Bombshell: 2012 report on Connecticut seminary uncovered wide homosexual network

From The National Catholic Register: Some of the seminarians and transitional deacons at the center...

November 29, 2018

‘We are richly blessed’: Atlanta’s Archbishop Gregory on deacons

There are still places in the United States where deacons are minimized, marginalized, dismissed or,...

November 20, 2018

BBC names 100 most inspiring women of 2018 — and you’ll never guess who’s on the list

Details: BBC 100 Women has announced its list of 100 inspiring and influential women from...

October 2018

October 18, 2018

A priest writes: To solve this crisis, start by fixing the seminaries

The Rev. Thomas Berg, vice rector and director of admissions at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers,...

October 17, 2018

Pope tells seminarians: report abuse immediately

Details: Pope Francis told a group of Italian seminarians to report immediately to their bishop...

October 13, 2018

Grant Desme’s journey: The baseball star who joined a monastery returns to baseball

A few years ago, for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, I preached a homily...

October 12, 2018

In the vineyard: seminarians required to work alongside migrants

I can't say enough good things about this idea: requiring seminarians to work for the...

October 11, 2018

Bishop at Synod: Some married men would answer the call to the priesthood

Some, of course, are already answering the call. The story, from CNS: Speaking to the...

October 08, 2018

Pope praises families of married Eastern Catholic priests

Details: The families of Eastern-rite Catholic priests give an important witness to what is healthy...

September 2018

September 22, 2018

Becoming a new priest in the middle of the scandal: ‘I wondered if I was in the right place’

A few days back, my friend Gary Zimak interviewed me for his radio show, and...

July 2018

July 05, 2018

Vatican issues new document on Order of Virgins

From Vatican News: In 2020 it will be 50 years since Pope Paul VI revived...

June 2018

June 22, 2018

More men hearing the call to priesthood later in life

Here's a great piece from The Witness, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, noting...

June 18, 2018

A former pro football player is about to become a nun. I’m not kidding.

Seriously. Read on, via CNA: Every single vocation story is different, but Sr. Rita Clare...

May 2018

May 25, 2018

Boom: This diocese is ordaining its largest class in over 40 years

Some other places are showing an uptick as well. Why is this happening? The vocations...

May 24, 2018

Running on empty: Rhode Island seminary has no applicants

Disturbing news: Our Lady of Providence Seminary has no men entering its program from Providence...

April 2018

April 27, 2018

The story of the pope’s late crossbearer, a seminarian who wanted to ‘make holiness normal’

Countless people know Anthony Freeman as the young seminarian who died tragically and unexpectedly the...

April 24, 2018

A Deacon’s Journey: ‘I felt God calling me to do something more for him…’

Check out this vocation story from The Marshall Independent in Minnesota: Travis Welsh of Ghent is...

April 20, 2018

Bishops in Quebec discuss possibility of married priests — and potential impact on deacons

From Canadian Catholic News: The Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec have discussed the ordination...

April 11, 2018

What’s ‘the greatest feeder of vocations’? It might surprise you.

From The Catholic Herald: Priestly vocations are most likely to flourish among the homeschooled,...

April 06, 2018

UPDATE: Doctors determine cause of seminarian’s death

From ANSA, an update on a story that shocked and saddened so many: A 29-year-old...

March 2018

March 26, 2018

Is God calling you to be a deacon?

That's the question they're asking right now in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The bishop is...

March 20, 2018

NBC News: more millennials are entering religious life

Well, what do you know. Check out this surprising digital exclusive from NBC News:

March 19, 2018

Can Mepkin Abbey survive in a changing world?

The New York Times' Stephen Hiltner paid a visit to the venerable Trappist monastery in...

March 15, 2018

Bishop on deacons: ‘Let’s lift up this vocation, let’s emphasize its role’

Arlington's Bishop Michael Burbidge had some warm words about deacons in The Catholic Herald, which...

March 12, 2018

The challenge of being the pastor’s wife

Deacon Norb Wethington sent this my way with a note: "Says something to the wives...

October 2015

October 14, 2015

Boom: Louisiana seminary reports record enrollment, 83% increase from five years ago

The Francis Effect? Maybe. From the web page of St. Joseph Seminary in Covington: Saint...

October 14, 2015

Boom: Louisiana seminary reports record enrollment, 83% increase from five years ago

The Francis Effect? Maybe. From the web page of St. Joseph Seminary in Covington: Saint...

September 2015

September 22, 2015

Women’s ordination conference concludes in Philadelphia

And this is how it wrapped up, courtesy Tom Fox at National Catholic Reporter. I think...

September 22, 2015

Women’s ordination conference concludes in Philadelphia

And this is how it wrapped up, courtesy Tom Fox at National Catholic Reporter. I think...

September 21, 2015

A deacon writes: “Cooking pots, storybooks and rakes are all sacred vessels when they become instruments of the love of God”

A wonderful reflection on this vocation from recently ordained Deacon Jay Cormier inAmerica: As my...