priests

Cardinal Tobin, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, calls Pope Francis’ Aug. 4 letter to priests around the world “a most welcome gift” in this “particularly difficult time for the church.”

“We want parishioners to be assured that none of our priests would ask for money or gift cards in this way. We ask everyone to please ignore these messages.”

The Catholic Church, through its priests, deacons and lay experts, must do more to listen to, comfort and assist those who feel troubled, tempted, cursed or possessed, said an Italian exorcist.

Reparation, prayer, self-sacrifice, witness, Eucharist are among their suggestions for healing.

Amid controversy caused by a Vatican official’s assertions that priests “have no credibility” in marriage preparation, representatives from dioceses across the United States maintain that both priests and laity have integral roles in the process.

The apostolic nuncio to the United States challenged an audience of seminarians, faculty and staff at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary to see future priests not as functionaries of the sacred or managers of a business, but as compassionate pastors and missionaries who joyfully announce the Gospel.

Father Giulio Cirignano examines the possible reasons behind what he sees as a “disconcerting fact” — that a large part of the Catholic lay faithful have recognized the “kairos” or favorable occasion God is offering the church today while other Catholics, who are “closer to poorly enlightened pastors, are kept within an old horizon.”

With Pope Francis’ visitation to South Sudan on hold, which was meant to be next on the list for his travel to red-flag the disastrous effects facing millions of South Sundanese people, how does this tragedy get on the world’s radar now?