The events that have unfolded within the Church over the course of the past several months have led some to dub it as the Church’s “Summer of Shame.” The allegations against Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, the Pennsylvania grand jury report, the memo from Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano — the combination feels like a perfect storm of despicable crimes, malfeasant leadership and intra-Church intrigue. Unfortunately, it seems as if this storm is not lessening in intensity.

In his celebration of Mass at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling Sept. 15, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore said he will be with the Catholics of West Virginia on the journey to “healing and reconciliation.”

The Mass was streamed live on the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston’s website and televised the next morning to many parts of the state. Concelebrating the Mass were area priests.

The committee also said it supported "a full investigation into the situation" surrounding Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, former cardinal-archbishop of Washington, "including his alleged assaults on minors, priests and seminarians, as well as "any responses made to those allegations."

Bishop Knestout said, “They cry out to God for justice, to be made right, to be repaired. God hears those voices even when leaders in the Church didn’t, and we know of the terrible nature of those sins and the terrible failure of leadership.”

After recent reports describing clergy sex abuse, Paul Peloquin, a Catholic clinical psychologist and a clergy abuse survivor, shared advice for victims and their families.

“For Catholics who have been abused by a priest or clergy, it’s doubly difficult because they have not only been psychologically traumatized, but spiritually traumatized,” Peloquin told Catholic News. “Unless that is addressed, healing is very difficult.”

His work as a Catholic psychologist is tied to his own journey as an abuse survivor.

“I’m a survivor myself,” said Peloquin, who is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput is asking Pope Francis to call off the Synod of Bishops on young people this October to focus instead on the life of the bishops.

“I have written the Holy Father and called on him to cancel the upcoming synod on young people. Right now, the bishops would have absolutely no credibility in addressing this topic,” the archbishop said at an Aug. 30 conference at Philadelphia’s St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, according to a report by the website LifeSiteNews.

In its place, the archbishop suggested that the pope “begin making plans for a synod on the life of bishops,” the archbishop said.

For the past 40 years, Pat Boerschinger has been legally blind. And while she cannot see, her faith in God and devotion to Mary guide her every step.

Boerschinger was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare, inherited degenerative eye disease, in 1978.

“It was devastating,” she said. “When I first lost my eyesight, the doctor told me, ‘You’re going blind. There’s nothing I can do for you. There’s nothing you can do. You might as well just go home and not cry about it.’

The seal of confession is so important and sacred that a priest would be automatically excommunicated under canon law for directly revealing the contents of a confession.

The sacramental seal is absolutely inviolable and “admits no exceptions” — even if the intention was to prevent an imminent evil or serious crime, said Msgr. Krzysztof Nykiel, regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court dealing with matters of conscience.

Tim Carlin lives by the belief that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Over the summer, Carlin, a fifth-grade teacher at Roanoke Catholic School, gave one of his kidneys to someone he might never meet.

This is the third in a series of three articles about the diaconate as Bishop Barry C. Knestout will ordain 19 permanent deacons for the Diocese of Richmond, Saturday, Sept. 15.

Sister Sobieck, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois, is a theology teacher at Marian Catholic High School in suburban Chicago Heights. 

On the mound, she wore over her habit a Marian Catholic T-shirt with the number “60” on the back to observe the school’s 60th anniversary. It also was Marian Catholic Night at the ballpark.

The twin sisters, natives of Hartford, Connecticut, both have degrees in social work. Their family ministry at St. Martin Parish included preparing people for the sacraments of marriage and baptism, helping counsel youth, and assisting parents facing challenges in their immigration status, health, employment or with family issues.

And in all their work, they encouraged people to put Christ at the center of their lives, a lesson their mother taught them long ago — the importance of “primero Dios” (“God first.”)

In an Aug. 27 statement, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston also said that the questions raised by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, former nuncio to the United States, in a letter published by two Catholic media outlets "deserve answers that are conclusive and based on evidence."

Several New Testament passages refer to these coworkers by the term “deacon,” which is derived from the Greek “diakonos,” meaning “servant” or “minister.” In some cases, the word has a general significance; in other cases, it designates an official minister within a local Christian community. 

They range in age from 19 to 55. They come from different parts of the Diocese of Richmond. Three have college degrees; two are recent high school graduates. But one thing they have in common is each is beginning his seminary studies this fall.

The more parishioners heard about Father Malingumu’s life in Tanzania, the more questions they asked him. 

In a Facebook posting after the attack, Father Loya said, “The attacker choked him and slammed his head to the ground. Father Basil lost consciousness. Before going unconscious, Father Basil heard the attacker say, ‘This is for all the kids!’” — a reference to clergy sex abuse scandals that have resurfaced in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

Bishop Persico was the only bishop who met in person with members of a grand jury investigating decades-long claims of abuse at six Pennsylvania dioceses. In an explosive report, the grand jury said it identified more than 1,000 who said they were victimized as children by priests and other Church workers in the state.

Bishop Barry C. Knestout will ordain 20 men as permanent deacons, Saturday, Sept. 15, at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Richmond. 
This week, The Catholic Virginian introduces readers to nine of the candidates.

“I express to each one of you parents gratitude for your own life of faith, your encouragement to your sons in terms of their service to the Church.” – Bishop Barry C. Knestout

The letter was published less than a week after the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report on decades of clerical sexual abuse and coverups in six dioceses. The report spoke of credible allegations against 301 priests in cases involving more than 1,000 children.

"The heart-wrenching pain of these victims, which cries out to heaven, was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced," Pope Francis said. "But their outcry was more powerful than all the measures meant to silence them."

The statement, sent in Italian with unofficial English and Spanish translations, came after the Pennsylvania attorney general held a news conference Aug. 14 announcing a 900-page report detailing decades of child sexual abuse by 301 priests, who harmed more than 1,000 victims.

U.S. Catholic Church leaders have been calling for an internal investigation into the handling of allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct against Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick and urging such an inquiry be spearheaded by laypeople.

I recently heard a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk by Jocko Willink, a former Navy Seal, in which he spoke about a leadership concept called Extreme Ownership.

He spoke about war as an incredible and brutal teacher whose lessons are not forgotten. In war, he said, one is forced to see humanity at its absolute worst, and one is blessed to see humanity in its most glorious moments.

“You see, I haven’t always been a joyful person. Sadly, I was a pessimistic nuisance until one day God got a hold of me. I began my search for joy by giving up Facebook for a year and journaling my life events. As I wrote, I made it a point of describing the joy I saw as opposed to all the misery. I was not always successful in this endeavor of finding joy, but I realized finding joy isn’t a one-time thing. It’s a daily choice. As is love.” – Kelly Tallent

The New Testament and other sources indicate that the Apostles, vested with Jesus’ power and authority, and guided by the Holy Spirit, commissioned assistants and successors. In this way, the Apostles handed on what they themselves had received: a share in Jesus’ ministry as leaders of the Church. In this process of transmission, the sacrament of holy orders unfolded through the centuries.

His family and his home destroyed, he lived in swamps, a refugee camp and an orphanage for a few years — always finding a way to survive — until a basketball coach saw him playing the game in a park. When Kalima’s height and athletic ability made him stand out among the other players, the coach enrolled Kalima in a boarding school in return for playing for his team. And Kalima’s size and talent eventually drew the interest of scouts for colleges in the United States.

Richard Joseph, director of the Bureau of Education for the Diocese of Hinche, Haiti, will visit the Diocese of Richmond, Tuesday, Aug. 21 through Tuesday, Sept. 4, speaking at four regional meetings to discuss education in Haiti and to assist parishes within the diocese that have questions regarding their twinning relationships.

Announcing the change Aug. 2, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said, “The new text, following in the footsteps of the teaching of John Paul II in ‘Evangelium Vitae,’ affirms that ending the life of a criminal as punishment for a crime is inadmissible because it attacks the dignity of the person, a dignity that is not lost even after having committed the most serious crimes.”

A crew from ServPro worked all day Friday and throughout the night in order to remove the smoke from the church. They have been working daily in various parts of the facility, cleaning, removing debris, and moving salvageable items that are being stored until affected areas are prepared for use.

Faith in Action, an undertaking of the Knights’ Supreme Council, encompasses faith, family, community and life. All of the Knights’ endeavors fall into one of those categories. The website, according to Polich, will help introduce visitors to the Virginia State Council’s programs, including Keep Christ in Christmas and KOVAR, which lists its various charitable undertakings, e.g., providing scholarships and supporting Special Olympics.

The catechism's paragraph on capital punishment, 2267, had already been updated by St. John Paul II in 1997 to strengthen its skepticism about the need to use the death penalty in the modern world and, particularly, to affirm the importance of protecting all human life.

The bishop's release of pages of detailed information — which is being called unprecedented — comes ahead of the expected release of a redacted version of a grand jury report based on a months-long investigation by the state's attorney general into sexual abuse claims in six Pennsylvania dioceses. Many of the claims go back decades.

Americans value autonomy, Father Nairn said, however, decisions regarding end-of-life care should be made as a family rather than as an individual because both are affected. Nevertheless, it is wrong to dismiss an individual’s desires.

"While the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops does not support or oppose the confirmation of any presidential nominee," New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said, "we can and should raise grave concerns about a confirmation process which is being grossly distorted by efforts to subject judicial nominees to a litmus test of support for Roe v. Wade. And we must pray."