LISBON, Portugal (21:50 local time) — Today, the World Youth Day (WYD) organization released the official statistics of the event. At the time of the briefing, there were 354,000 registered pilgrims. Some critics have claimed that this is the lowest attendance since St. John Paul II first began WYD in 1986. This claim,...
LISBON, Portugal — On July 31, 2023, seven volunteers from all around the world were invited to a press conference, to give a brief testimony about WYD and its meaning for them. Micael De Almeida is a missionary and physiotherapist from Brazil. He belongs to a special team responsible for the health of bishops...
LISBON, PORTUGAL — July 31, 2023 The pilgrimage of the symbols was one of the highlights discussed at the opening press conference for World Youth Day (WYD) today. In the weeks leading up to each WYD gathering, two symbols are traditionally taken through several parts of the world as representations of WYD. These...
A reflection on the Scripture Readings for July 30, 2023 — the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The audio version will be available at this link. This homily is not based exclusively on today’s scripture readings but draws from the readings of the last two Sundays as well. There is a unity in these...
After the Annunciation, Mary could have focused on herself and her own worries and fears about her new condition. Instead, she entrusted herself completely to God. Her thoughts turned to Elizabeth. She got up and went forth, into the world of life and movement. Even though the astonishing message of the angel had...
“Yes, you are your brother’s keeper! To be human means to care for one another,” Pope Francis preached from St. Peter’s Square,[1] echoing the first pope’s call to holiness (cf. 1 Peter 1:15), Christ’s command to “Love one another as I love you.” (John 15:12), and God’s answer to Cain (cf. Gen 4:9)....
One of the endnotes in George Weigel’s 2005 book God’s Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church retells the (likely apocryphal) story of an exchange that is said to have occurred immediately after the 1914 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XV: When Cardinal Merry del Val approached the now-enthroned...
As the US Catholic Bishops have repeatedly emphasized in response to questions concerning immigration, there are two relevant moral principles indicated in number 2241 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), both of which must be carried out, and neither of which can be ignored. Both of these are duties of good...
One of the world’s smallest national Catholic communities, Mongolia, is anticipating Pope Francis’s upcoming visit, demonstrating the Holy Father’s willingness to travel great distances and minister to even a handful of the faithful. Announced on July 15, the pope will travel to the country from August 31 through September 4. Shortly after the...
Coming up at 5:30 pm EDT! On this week’s episode of The Debrief, Dominic and I return for a look at three bishops from different parts of the world: one from Asia, one from Latin America, and one from Africa. Topics: 1) Pope Francis officially appoints a bishop for Shanghai 2) Nicaraguan Bishop...
It’s exhausting to remain in a Church whose sacraments and teachings I love, but whose leaders continue to display a preferential option for the institution over a preferential option for the vulnerable and those whom have been harmed by clerics.
Where Peter Is · Play.ht – Groans Of Anticipation And The Spiritual Life A reflection on the readings for Sunday, July 23, 2023 — The Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time I had one of the most incredible meals of my life on a nondescript weekday afternoon while in graduate school in Rome....
Popular Posts